Call of Duty Franchise Hits $40 Billion Lifetime Revenue After Modern Warfare 4 Launch

The Call of Duty franchise has now crossed $40 billion in lifetime revenue following the release of its 23rd mainline installment, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, which launched last Friday. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced the milestone on her X account, sharing a graphic of favorable review scores for Modern Warfare 4 with the caption, "One of the most celebrated Call of Duty games in its 24-year history, and now $40B in lifetime franchise revenue. An incredible milestone. Congrats to the Activision team. And to the players, thank you for being with us." The franchise's enduring popularity is remarkable, even if some annual releases are more favored by critics and players than others. The new Modern Warfare 4 appears to be well-received so far; IGN hasn't finalized its review yet, but reviewer Simon Cardy says, "Modern Warfare 4’s campaign made me feel something for the series again" and "its expansive behind-enemy-lines mission that borrows most of its ideas from the DMZ mode is a real highlight." For context, Grand Theft Auto 5 alone has generated over $10 billion over the past 13 years, and the upcoming GTA 6 is estimated to clear $5.2 billion by the end of its first week on sale. Call of Duty will soon expand beyond games, as Peter Berg's Call of Duty movie is set to hit theaters on June 30, 2028, and will explore "the cost of war" for its characters.