‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ leads next-gen launch sales, sky continues to be blue

By Adam Rosenberg November 26, 2013

Ghosts_Through_the_Smoke — Image used with permission by copyright holder

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Call of Duty: Ghosts is the top-selling game in North America among all of the launch lineups on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Activision touts the success in a press release that also trumpets Ghosts as the most-played Xbox One multiplayer game worldwide and the most-played PlayStation 4 game overall.

“Around the globe, Call of Duty: Ghosts is leading the next generation. It’s the #1 selling title at key retailers and it’s also the most played game on Xbox One and PS4 globally,” Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg said in a prepared statement. “As we’ve said before, we’ve got the best community of fans in the world, and we’re thrilled they’re coming with us to the next generation.”

In truth, Ghosts had very few competitors to beat in achieving sales dominance as the new consoles launch. Battlefield 4 has a sizable audience, no doubt, but it’s yet to topple any of its chief competitor’s sales achievements. Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is really the only viable cross-platform threat to Ghosts in North America – EA Sports’ FIFA 14 is another matter entirely in Europe – and the quick-hit, high-speed multiplayer action of Ghosts is more crowd-pleasing than AC4‘s admittedly excellent pirate-themed high seas adventure.

Activision notes in the announcement that more than 1 billion matches have been played across all versions of the game, which is also available for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. All of those matches led to more than 2.2 million players maxing out their rank and more than 3.3 trillion experience points earned.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Gaming

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is official and it’s coming this November

call of duty modern warfare iii release date makarov mwiii

Activision has confirmed a November 10 release date for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III with a teaser trailer following a barrage of leaks.
The shooter, which is going to be a direct sequel to 2022's Modern Warfare II, was the subject of lots of reports and leaks prior to this announcement. Reports from Bloomberg revealed that this game was originally going to be a Modern Warfare II expansion, but it later got upgraded to a full game. Then, over the summer, more game details started to leak before some Monster Energy advertisements revealed the game's title prematurely. Activision coyly acknowledged this leak on Twitter at the time, but finally pulled the curtain back on the project today with a video titled "Modern Warfare III is Coming."
Modern Warfare III is Coming
It begins with some green soundwaves on-screen and a lot of radio chatter in the background. Then, the soundwaves turn from green to red before the perspective then pushes into them, creating a trippy red void. In there, we briefly see waveform images of a snake and Captain Price before he says, "Never bury your enemies alive" over the silhouette of a new character. This is believed to be Vladimir Makarov, the villain of the original Modern Warfare trilogy, who was teased in the post-credit scene for last year's campaign. After all of that, the title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is confirmed, as is the release date of November 10.

This date falls right in line with the late October to early November window in which Call of Duty games usually come out. It also places its launch after Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition is expected to be complete, so it looks like this may be the first Call of Duty game released under Microsoft. Other than that date, official details on the game are fairly scarce. Thankfully, we shouldn't have to wait too much longer to learn more.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III launches on November 10.

Gaming

Call of Duty: Warzone devs share the design secrets of the best battle royale map

Overhead shot of Vondel map in Warzone.

The Vondel map in Call of Duty: Warzone is one of the best battlegrounds in the history of the battle royale genre. It's a small-scale, densely packed map with a wide variety of points of interest (POIs) that feel distinct. Modeled after European cities, Vondel is a feat of level design as it simultaneously feels fun and functional. It's a city that you can truly imagine as a real place, with a slew of different shops to enter, a canal, and even a water taxi service that moves throughout the map.

But behind the scenes, there are countless design choices that help the flow and pacing of the map. To get a better sense of just what makes this map work so well, I spoke with Beenox Senior Level Designer Fred Wilson and Lead Artist Guillaume Alain. The duo revealed how Vondel's composition seeps into the players' subconscious, with intuitive design choices that work better than any Warzone map that's come before.
Pacing is king

Gaming

The best weapons in Modern Warfare 2: every gun ranked

Soldiers running in Modern Warfare II.

Your performance in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has a lot to do with the weapon you come equipped with. Sure, a skilled player can excel with most weapons in the game, but having the best firearm for any given situation will lead you to more victories -- regardless of your playstyle. Modern Warfare 2 has around 50 primary weapons across seven categories, each with different stats, strengths, and weaknesses.

The meta in Call of Duty games shifts constantly as weapons are added and tweaked, so it's always a good idea to stay on top of the latest updates. In this guide, we'll rank each primary weapon in Modern Warfare 2 across all categories (with the exception of the Riot Shield). This ranking is in descending order, with the first spot being the best and the last spot being the worst. We'll also link to loadout guides for the weapons on this list so you know exactly which attachments to use.
Assault rifles