Call of Duty passes $40 billion in lifetime revenue, but Microsoft still won't share Modern Warfare 4 sales

$40 billion and counting. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says the Call of Duty franchise has now passed $40 billion in lifetime revenue. She shared the milestone on X on October 26, three days after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launched, calling the new game “one of the most celebrated Call of Duty games in its 24-year history,” GameSpot reports. Her post came with a graphic of Modern Warfare 4’s review scores.

What the number does and doesn’t cover. The $40 billion is for the whole series since 2003, not Modern Warfare 4 alone, and Sharma didn’t break it down or say when the franchise crossed the line, according to Inven Global. It’s revenue, not profit, and it includes years from before Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard in 2023. PC Gamer notes that still leaves Call of Duty behind giants like Mario and Pokémon.

No launch numbers yet. Microsoft and Activision haven’t shared any unit sales or launch revenue for Modern Warfare 4, a change from the days when Activision trumpeted launch records. Microsoft reports quarterly earnings on Wednesday, October 28, Warp Pipes notes, so that’s the next chance for real figures.

PPR take: A huge lifetime number is a nice headline, but when a publisher leads with franchise totals instead of launch sales, people notice. Tomorrow’s earnings call should show whether Modern Warfare 4 is pulling its weight.