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Posted by: Matt Liebl

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It only took 16 days for Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to cross the $1 billion dollar mark in sales.  Launching on November 8, 2011, it only eclipsed the record set in 2009 by the film "Avatar" which reached the $1 billion milestone in 17 days.

The Call of Duty community now exceeds the combined populations of the cities of New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, and Madrid with more than 30 million gamers.

"Engagement of our Call of Duty audience continues to rise around the world" said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.  "Call of Duty as an entertainment franchise has made an indelible mark on popular culture and its broad and continued success is further validation that audiences increasingly value interactive experiences over passive experiences."

Call of Duty is now amongst the ranks of sustained franchises like "Star Wars", "Harry Potter", "Lord of the Rings" and the NFL that attract tens of millions of people every year or every new release.

"Call of Duty has become that rare entertainment franchise that transcends its own genre. Core gamers love it, as our stellar reviews show. But every year, new people are drawn into Call of Duty," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing.  "And while the franchise continues to set records, our fans still seem to want more, demonstrated by our record setting start on Call of Duty Elite. We are committed to helping everyone connect, compete and improve their game, Call of Duty style."

Activision recently celebrated winning the "Best Shooter" category at Spike's VGAs on Saturday, beating out Battlefield 3, RAGE, and Gears of War 3.