Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone combined to generate nearly $2 billion in revenue in 2020, according to a new report by SuperData Research.
That figure puts Call of Duty at the top of the list of revenue generated by premium titles in 2020 by a wide margin. The CoD combo of MW and Warzone raked in $1.91 billion, according to SuperData, while the second-place game, FIFA 20, made $1.08 billion.
Call of Duty’s move to a seasonal model with an in-game store filled with cosmetics and is updated frequently has obviously worked out well. In the past, Activision used to sell seasonal DLC packs for $15 or $20. But now, there’s almost always something new coming into the store every few days.
With Warzone being the series’ first free-to-play battle royale game, popularity in CoD exploded in 2020—which is impressive considering the FPS franchise is always at or near the top of revenue each year anyway.
“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare rose to become the highest-earning premium game of 2020,” SuperData said. “The game shifted to a hybrid business model in March with the release of the free-to-play Warzone battle royale mode and the lower barrier to entry caused player numbers to jump. Many of these new players not only purchased in-game content but also ended up paying to upgrade to the full game.”
Every two months, a new season arrives, along with a new battle pass for about $10. Players can also spend real money to buy CoD Points to rank up the pass if they’re unable to finish it just by playing.
Development of Warzone continues into 2021 alongside the franchise’s newest entry, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, which was released on Nov. 10.
