Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War turned out to be the best-selling game of all of 2020. Even though it was only released on November 13. That’s the money-making power of the Call of Duty franchise for you.

Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War: so many colons.
What’s surprising is that anyone is surprised by this.

The NPD Group managed to get us this rather intriguing but not entirely unexpected factoid about Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War via Twitter. With how popular the whole Call of Duty franchise is, it’s not surprising that the latest game would be the best-selling game of 2020. Not even Cyberpunk 2077 could topple that gun-toting monster back in December.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War beating Cyberpunk 2077.
The console failure probably didn’t help Cyberpunk 2077 there.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War‘s price likely won’t go down for years at this rate. Especially not when the game apparently repeats the multiple-ending campaign of Black Ops 2. That alone would make the game worth the purchase.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II poster.
The ur-Cold War.

Above and Beyond the Call of Duty

Call of Duty rocking 2020.
2020 is truly the year of the gun.

There is actually one thing surprising about The NPD Group’s series of reports. Do you all remember the remake of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare? The one Infinity Ward released in 2019? Apparently, it’s the second best-selling game of 2020. Looks like Price has still got it.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare remake poster.
I swear Price’s mustache is just a bit bushier here.

This also explains why Call of Duty: Modern Warfare‘s price never went down by much. Even during large sales on, for example, the PlayStation Store, the discounts never went above 10-15%. Considering that they’re selling the game at its full price of $59.99, it means that the price never dipped below $50. This is for a game that was released well over a year ago. If Modern Warfare continues to sell this well in 2021, well, I guess there’s always 2022 before I find out what all the fuss is about.

Another year before I find out if the story is really as good as people say it is.

Conclusion

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War not only has one of the longest titles of any Call of Duty game, but it’s also the best-selling game of 2020 period. Not only that, but Call of Duty: Modern Warfare snagged second place on that same list even though it came out in 2019. The Call of Duty franchise will never stop making money for Activision now, would it? Now if only they could give us some better discounts for them.

Source: The NPD Group