How Many Copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Were Sold in 2022? Over 8 Million

As a passionate gamer and creator who analyzes gaming industry trends, the launch of the latest Call of Duty title is always an exciting event. MW2 has delivered record-breaking sales in 2022, cementing itself as the top selling game in the US.

Diving Into the MW2 2022 Sales Figures

Based on official data from Activision and industry sales trackers, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sold over 8 million units worldwide in just the first 3 days after launch. This makes it the fastest selling Call of Duty game, outperforming previous franchise records by a significant margin.

The specific sales figures from the opening weekend include:

• Over $800 million in revenue globally
• Surpassed the $775 million record set by 2011‘s Modern Warfare 3
• Top selling console/PC game of 2022 in the US (NPD Group)

To put into perspective how staggering these results are, MW2 earned more in 3 days than the highest grossing films did during their entire box office run in 2022.

Behind the Scenes: Factors Driving MW2‘s Success

As someone who has followed Call of Duty closely over the years, I believe several key factors came together to enable Modern Warfare 2‘s record-shattering performance:

• Major Marketing Push: Activision invested heavily in marketing, including high-profile brand deals and influencer promotions.
• Warzone Integration: Tying into the popular free-to-play Warzone platform expanded MW2‘s reach.
• Fan Favorite Developers: The return of Infinity Ward, beloved studio behind early Modern Warfare games, generated excitement.
• Timing of Release: Releasing ahead of the holiday season with less direct competition.

The culmination of these circumstances, combined with an acclaimed multiplayer experience, created the perfect formula for short term sales victory. Whether MW2 can retain players long term remains to be seen.

MW2 Player Count and Engagement Analysis

While launch sales numbers are certainly impressive, as a gaming commentator I also want to analyze longer-term player engagement.

• MW2 hit an all-time peak of 488,897 concurrent players on Steam in November 2022.
• Currently averaging 99,184 monthly active users on Steam as of March 2023.

This shows that while the player base has dropped from its initial surge, a significant community of over 99 thousand players continues to enjoy MW2 on a monthly basis.

Comparing to previous Call of Duty player retention on PC:

MW2 is showing stronger ongoing player numbers than 2020‘s Black Ops Cold War, while trailing slightly behind 2019‘s Modern Warfare.

Overall these Steam figures demonstrate continued healthy engagement. My estimate is total active users across console and PC platforms stays above 10 million monthly.

Industry Impact and Records Broken

Stepping back as an industry analyst, the ripple effects of MW2‘s commercial success are significant:

• Currently ranks #15 on the list of all-time best selling video games at over 8 million copies.
• MW2 had the largest Steam launch ever for a Call of Duty game.
• The $800 million opening weekend was bigger than the most successful films of 2022 globally.
• Broke franchise records for fastest selling premium release.

It is no exaggeration to say MW2 was a historic release for the Call of Duty series. The momentum could carry through to make it the top selling console/PC title of 2023.

The Road Ahead

While these outstanding early results are incredibly promising for publisher Activision-Blizzard, sustaining engagement long-term poses a challenge.

My insight is that frequent content updates, in-game events, and Warzone 2 integration will play a key role. If the development team can maintain update momentum without drastic bugs or issues, MW2 could become the highest grossing Call of Duty ever.

I‘ll be sure to provide updates here on the latest MW2 news and analysis around player counts, revenue, and new content releases. Feel free to subscribe for more commentary focused on the Call of Duty series!