Ghosts lead the way in next-gen sales

Activision’s latest Call of Duty title grabs the top spots on both the PS4 and Xbox One, boasting some numbers that are anything but spectral.

• #1 Most Played Xbox One Multiplayer Game Worldwide
• #1 Top Selling Xbox One Title at Leading North American Retailers
• #1 Xbox One Standalone Software Title in U.K.*
• #1 Most Played PlayStation 4 Game
• #1 Top Selling PlayStation 4 Game at Leading North American Retailers

Some pretty gaudy numbers right there no? Call of Duty has always been a big seller, but having a reinvention of the franchise in the way that Ghosts is sitting right at the launch of a new generation of hardware seems to have paid off in a big, big way. The game has nabbed the ‘top seller’ spot in stores like Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Walmart for both new consoles in the US and GfK Charttrack plops the title in at number 1 (with a bullet) in the UK.

Further, a GameStop survey taking place amongst it’s PowerUp Rewards cub members pegs Call of Duty: Ghosts as the “most desired” game this Holiday Season. That was a pretty good cross-section of gamers too and took into account 1,000 PUR subscribers as well as 500 general gifters, All those numbers combine into one big ball of Call of Duty fans and just go to show even more that this is a series that’s got some serious legs.

“Around the globe, Call of Duty: Ghosts is leading the next generation. It’s the #1 selling title at key retailers and it’s also the most played game on Xbox One and PS4 globally,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. “As we’ve said before, we’ve got the best community of fans in the world, and we’re thrilled they’re coming with us to the next generation.”

Aside from the next generation, CoD:Ghosts is also the most played multiplayer game right now on the Xbox 360, which is no small-time feat either. The 360 is still supremely popular, especially in the US, and having Ghosts sit at the top of the online heap probably comes as a surprise to no one considering just how well the franchise does annually on the console. Still though, it’s impressive stuff that the -Undertaker at Wrestlemania’-like roll just keeps on a-rolling.

“Congratulations to our friends at Microsoft for the launch of the Xbox One,” said Dave Stohl, executive vice president, worldwide studios, Activision Publishing, Inc. “Xbox and Call of Duty together have formed a valued and lasting partnership on Xbox 360, and we know this is just the beginning. So we look forward to an exciting new future on Xbox One.”

“As home to the largest and most engaged Call of Duty community, it is no surprise that the newest entry in the blockbuster franchise has quickly become the most played multiplayer game on both Xbox One and Xbox 360,” said Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Marketing & Strategy, Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “We congratulate our partners at Activision and Infinity Ward, and are proud to continue offering the best and most engaging Call of Duty online experience to our fans globally by launching all Call of Duty: Ghostsmap packs first only on Xbox.”]

Activision also tells us that over 1 billion multiplayer matches of Call of Duty: Ghosts have already been played across all of the systems that it’s currently available for. According to the publisher’s internal figures, players have ‘prestiged’ over 2.2 million times and earned some 3 million experience points since launch. A launch, by the way, which wasn’t all that long ago.

Call of Duty: Ghosts dropped onto the Xbox 360, PS3/4, Wii U and PC on November 5th with an Xbox One launch taking place on the 22nd.