“Call of Duty: Black Ops 4” is already the best-selling game of 2018

Activision/Treyarch

• The latest entry in the annual
  “Call of Duty” franchise is a massive hit.
• “Call of Duty: Black Ops 4” was the best-selling game
  of October, and the best-selling game of 2018 — at
  once.
• “Call of Duty” is always a popular franchise, but this
  is an especially impactful achievement given the competition
  from
  “Red Dead Redemption 2.”

“Call of Duty” is a behemoth in the world of video games, and
this year’s entry is the latest proof: In less than a month of
sales, it’s already the best-selling game of the year. The game
has made well over $1 billion.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops 4” is the latest entry in the
long-running first-person shooter series. It arrived on October
12 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC platforms. 

More than just a smash hit: In the half month it was available,
the game quickly rose to the top of the charts. It’s already the
best-selling game of 2018, besting even “Red Dead Redemption 2”
 (which also launched in October, albeit weeks later).
That’s according to the monthly report from The NPD Group, a
market research firm.

“‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’ launch month dollar sales represent
the eighth highest in video game history since The NPD Group
began tracking in 1995,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella says. Sales
were so strong, in fact, that “Black Ops 4” is retroactively the
second-best selling game since October 2017 — only bested by the
previous “Call of Duty” game, “Call of Duty: WWII.” 

Sledgehammer Games/Activision

That’s an especially impressive feat given the launch of “Red
Dead Redemption 2” on October 26. 

The long-awaited sequel to 2010’s “Red Dead Redemption” from
Rockstar Games, “Red Dead Redemption 2” was the most-buzzed about
game in 2018. It’s a critic’s darling, having already cracked

the top 20 highest-rated games of all time, and
a blockbuster hit as well: The game made nearly $1 billion in
its first three days. That means “Call of Duty” Black Ops 4″ made
well over $1 billion.

Since The NPD Group tracked the four-week period ending on
November 3, it captured nine days of “Red Dead Redemption 2”
sales in its monthly report. Comparatively, “Call of Duty: Black
Ops 4” had 22 days of sales — a crucial difference.

Also of note: “Black Ops 4” is on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4
— “Red Dead Redemption 2” is only on Xbox One and PlayStation 4
thus far.

“Call
of Duty: Black Ops 4″/Activision

This year’s “Call of Duty” was a major departure for the series.
“Black Ops 4” completely dropped a single-player,
narrative-driven campaign in favor of all multiplayer. 

In its place, a new mode named “Blackout” was added — a “Battle
Royale” mode similar to “Fortnite.” To the surprise of
skeptical critics, the new “Blackout” mode is
a fresh, smart take on a game mode that’s already proven to
be hugely popular. If nothing else, it’s a strong added value to
a package that is otherwise strong on its own. 

Whether “Call of Duty” can maintain its momentum remains to be
seen. With the addition of an online mode coming to “Red Dead
Redemption 2” in the coming weeks, and an
extremely enticing Black Friday sale that bundles the
excellent “Spider-man” with a $200, brand new PlayStation 4,
things could quickly change. But, thus far, the newest “Call of
Duty” looks to continue the franchise’s long reign of sales
dominance.