Call of Duty surpasses $40 billion in lifetime revenue

Call of Duty has generated more than $40 billion in cumulative lifetime revenue since its 2003 debut, Microsoft announced Oct. 26. The announcement came three days after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launched.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma disclosed the figure in a post that described the latest game as one of the most celebrated entries in the franchise’s 24-year history. Microsoft did not disclose when Call of Duty crossed the $40 billion mark.

The total covers the series’ premium games, downloadable content, in-game purchases, mobile spending, licensing, merchandise and other sources. It represents revenue, not profit. Development, marketing, platform fees, retail shares, esports costs and other expenses are excluded.

Microsoft did not provide a breakdown by game, year, platform, region or income source. It also did not disclose Modern Warfare 4’s sales, revenue or player count, so the game’s contribution to the $40 billion total is unknown.

Activision reported about $27 billion in lifetime consumer spending after 2020. In June 2022, the company raised that figure to more than $30 billion and reported more than 425 million paid copies sold. The latest announcement is about $10 billion above that 2022 figure, although Microsoft did not explain whether the measures use identical definitions.

The intervening period included Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III, Black Ops 6, Black Ops 7, Modern Warfare 4, Warzone, Call of Duty: Mobile, in-game purchases and sales of older games. Activision reported more than 500 million paid copies before Black Ops 6 launched in October 2024, excluding that title from the count.

The franchise began with paid console and PC games and downloadable map packs. Its business later expanded to battle passes, operator skins, weapon blueprints and other digital items. Warzone, which launched as a free-to-play game in March 2020, passed 100 million players by April 2021. Activision linked the game to higher in-game spending and stronger premium-game sales but did not report its revenue separately.

Call of Duty: Mobile generated more than $1 billion in consumer spending during 2021. Lifetime player spending on the mobile game passed $3 billion by June 2023, and downloads reached 1 billion in November 2024.

The clearest franchise-wide annual figure came in 2020, when Activision reported more than $3 billion in net bookings for the previous 12 months. The measure included paid games, downloadable content, mobile sales, license fees, merchandise and publisher incentives. Net bookings measure products and services sold during a period, while accounting revenue can be recognized later.

Activision’s publishing division reported revenue of $2.458 billion in 2018, $2.219 billion in 2019, $3.942 billion in 2020, $3.478 billion in 2021 and $3.275 billion in 2022. Those results included other properties, including Destiny, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro and Sekiro, and cannot be used as Call of Duty revenue. Microsoft has not published standalone annual Call of Duty revenue for 2023 through 2025.

Microsoft completed its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard on Oct. 13, 2023. It now reports Call of Duty within its broader Xbox Gaming business, which generated $21.503 billion in fiscal 2024 and $23.455 billion in fiscal 2025. Those figures include Xbox hardware, Game Pass, Bethesda and other content.

Black Ops 6 became the first Call of Duty game offered on Game Pass on its launch day in 2024. Microsoft reported launch-day records for players, hours played, matches and Game Pass subscriber additions, but did not provide unit or dollar figures. Subscription revenue is recognized over time rather than through a single game sale.

Follow our gaming coverage and visit our game gift marketplace for available digital products.