Modern Warfare 3 sells 6.5 million units in first 24 hours – "biggest entertainment launch ever"

Activision, the publisher behind the incredibly popular Call of Duty video game series, announced earlier this morning that Modern Warfare 3 has sold 6.5 million copies, making over $400 million, in the first 24 hours of availability. These numbers make the game, which launched to the United States and Europe this past Tuesday, the "biggest entertainment launch ever."

Activision continues on by noting that this is the third year in a row that a Call of Duty-branded video game has broken launch records. Last year, Call of Duty: Black Ops made $360 million and the year before that, Modern Warfare 2 made $310 million. 

The publisher also says that "millions" of Call of Duty fans and enthusiasts lined up for Modern Warfare 3's midnight release. Microsoft says that the launch also set a new record for "peak concurrency," the number of gamers simultaneously on Xbox Live. 

"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."