Although Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 didn't have the best reception at launch and reportedly had a rushed development cycle, it's still performed like no other game in the series before, setting all-new records.
According to a social media update from Sledgehammer Games, Modern Warfare 3 has experienced a "historic launch" - setting new records with "the highest engagement in the new Modern Warfare trilogy".
"Thank you for inspiring us and for spending so much time in this game. Your feedback and passion continually make us better. And, thank you for playing with us - it's been a blast, and there's much more fun in store."
The same post goes on to thank Treyarch for also setting a new Modern Warfare record with Zombies:
"Congratulations to our talented colleagues at Treyarch for setting a new Modern Warfare record with MW Zombies - and another shoutout to players for making all of this possible."
The main Call of Duty social media account breaks down each milestone a little more, mentioning how there's been "more hours per player overall" than Modern Warfare (2019) and Modern Warfare 2. MWZ is the "most engaging third mode" in MW history and campaign players are "putting in more time per player in MWIII" than the previous two installments.
Ubisoft's digital planning and analytics manager Sean Lama also responded to these records, noting how "engagement is a better metric for measuring medium and long-term health, after you've gotten a lot of players in the door".
"Most multiplayer games can't survive on on a small group of highly engaged players (see MultiVersus)."
Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in October for a record sum of $69 billion, so it's no doubt pleased to see Call of Duty is off to a strong start under the Xbox banner. Of course, it's also made 10-year arrangements with other platforms and services to ensure the Call of Duty series is more accessible than ever before.