Modern Warfare 3 sets a new record… At least pretend to be shocked.

Once again Activision set a new record, and it’s no surprise to find it involves the latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game, as Modern Warfare 3 has set an all time record for biggest sales at launch in North America and United Kingdom and more impressively across all forms of entertainment. 

Already Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has netted Activision $400 million from just the U.S. and U.K. with 6.5 million units sold.

Modern Warfare 3 marks the third consecutive year that a Call of Duty game has broken a day one launch record across all forms of entertainment, something even big blockbusters like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings couldn’t do.

Another feather in Activision’s cap is that Modern Warfare 3 has set the record on Xbox Live for peak concurrency (read: gamers playing at most time).

“We believe the launch of  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc. “Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings,” two of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time.“

Eric Hirshberg, Activision Publishing boss, added: “Call of of Duty is more than a game. It’s become a major part of the pop cultural landscape. It is a game that core enthusiasts love, but that also consistently draws new people into the medium. It is the most intense, adrenaline pumping entertainment experience anywhere.  “I would like to thank our incredible teams at Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games for making a brilliant game. But most of all, I would like to thank our millions of passionate fans worldwide. We made this game for you.” 

And to make their day even more special, Activision announced they had donated $3 million to what they call the “Call of Duty Endowment”, a non-profit, public benefit corporation that seeks to provide job placement and training for veterans.

And you wonder why Activsion only seem to concentrate on Modern Warfare and World of Warcraft. When they generate this much cash, why would they bother wasting time on trying to build other franchises?  Love it or hate it (or just don’t give a damn about it), you can’t deny that there looks like no stopping  Modern Warfare‘s momentum.