NPD: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is still the best-selling title of 2020

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare came in as the No. 2 best-selling game of the month for April in the U.S., according to market researcher NPD. The game remains the best-selling game both year-to-date as well as for the 12-month period ending April 2020.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is currently the fourth fastest-selling release in U.S. tracked history (dollar sales through the first seven months in market), according to NPD. That means the game is selling at historic levels, and it had beaten all other game sales except three titles in its first seven months on the market.

No doubt the game is being helped by strong demand for Call of Duty: Warzone, the free-to-play battle royale mode that debuted on March 11, just as shelter-in-place orders went to effect in the U.S. That game mode has been downloaded more than 60 million times, and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said recently during the company’s recent earnings call that many people who are trying out Warzone are upgrading to the full $60 game.

I have take this moment to point out that I won a match of Warzone, and so far I have played it more than 200 times. I suspect that Warzone’s popularity during shelter-in-place conditions is helping Modern Warfare’s sales.