Game:

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)

Duration: 1:09

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Recent stats show that the Call of Duty franchise is progressively declining in sales. Advanced Warfare was the best-selling game in November this year, but it still sold 27 percent less than the previous year. Analyst Michael Olson said:

“NPD data does not include digital copies or international sales, which, if included, would lessen the decline, but we believe this data suggests potential for Q4 revenue upside is now very low.”

So, on that note, it would be really nice to see how much digital sales are – I assume – increasing, and if this perhaps aligns with the overall decline of Call of Duty. I’m sure it’d make a difference, but 27 percent is still a lot. On the contrary, Activision said that initial UK sales figures for the game indicated there was growth for the franchise, but pre-order sales had declined. It’s all very conflicting.

In the past few years, analysts from Cowen & Company and The NPD Group have suggested that Call of Duty: Ghosts didn’t sell as well as Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Call of Duty: Black Ops didn’t sell as well as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. I wonder, at what point, do you decide to stop releasing games in previously annual franchises? A part of me does feel like the world would be a better place if Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed even maybe just released every second year, not every single year.

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