Call of Duty: Black Ops is proving to be a much needed success for Activision. Image courtesy of Activision.
The latest edition of Call of Duty, Black Ops, is a runaway success for Activision Blizzard Corporation. This title has surpassed the one billion dollar sales mark, and continues to go strong. The mark was reached in record time according to the company.
Since the game was released on November 9, players have racked up 600 million hours of play on Microsoft’s Xbox Live platform. This is where players can take each other on in the game using the online gaming feature built into the game. Online play is one of the most popular features of the game.
Strong sales represents an important success for Activision. Earlier this year, key staff left Infinity Ward, the primary Call of Duty development studio owned by Activision. The Black Ops title was produced by another Activision owned studio, Treyarch.
The exodus of two of the original creators of the Infinity Ward studio, Jason West and Vincent Zampella, left a large hole in the remaining talent. Activision has been scrambling to prove it can carry on the Call of Duty franchise without these key developers, which represents a multi-billion dollar contribution to its bottom line.
Activision remains embroiled in a law suit against Electronic Arts, West and Zampella seeking $400 million in damages and penalties.
