Activision has recently announced that its long standing Call of Duty franchise has now surpassed $3 billion (roughly R22 billion) in retail sales globally, making it one of the largest gaming franchises ever.

“Call of Duty has become one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.

“If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history.”

Since the release of the original Call of Duty title in 2003 the franchise has sold 55 million units. The most recently released title – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (the most popular to date by a large margin) generated $500 million in retail sales in its first week.