Modern Warfare 2 outsells Vanguard's lifetime UK sales in four weeks

Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released on October 27, and it has already sold more copies than Call of Duty: Vanguard by Sledgehammer Studios, released last year on November 5.

Both games are released on all major platforms, including Microsoft Windows, Xbox One| Series X/S, and PlayStation 4|5. However, Modern Warfare 2 was released on Steam, while Vanguard stuck with Battle.net.

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Modern Warfare 2 led game sales in the UK in November

Regarding physical and digital sales in the UK, Modern Warfare 2 was the best-selling game in November, outselling the likes of God of War Ragnarok, FIFA 23, and Football Manager 2023.

Call of Duty: Vanguard marked the franchise's worst launch in the UK in 14 years. Furthermore, sales never improved, causing Modern Warfare 2 to overtake its lifetime sales in just over a month. Vanguard's opening week was 40% down compared to its predecessor, Black Ops Cold War.

The reason behind Vanguard's performance decline was its release during the console hardware transition and its competition against Battlefield and Halo games. It was suggested that due to Vanguard's poor sales performance worldwide, Activision shifted MW2's release date to October rather than the usual November release.

Another factor that boosted the latest game's sales is the detachment of Warzone 1 and the integration of Warzone 2. The past three Call of Duty games have presented the Battle Royale with combined levels and guns.

However, for the first time in three years, Warzone 1 won't be integrated into the latest Call of Duty game, as Warzone 2 takes over as the main Battle Royale title.

The 2019 game's sequel was the biggest launch in Call of Duty's history, earning $1 billion worldwide just 10 days after launch and breaking multiple records. In addition to sales figures, the game also bested the franchise's number of unique players and hours played on its opening weekend.

Activision has high hopes for its latest games as it's the first in the franchise to follow a two-year cycle. There's no Call of Duty game scheduled to launch in 2023, although a story DLC will be made available. Notably, the next flagship game might arrive in 2024.