'Call Of Duty' passes $3bn landmark

Activision has announced that its Call Of Duty franchise has passed the $3 billion (£1.823bn) revenue landmark, largely thanks to the success of Modern Warfare 2.

Using data from NPD, GfK Chart-Track and other sources, the publisher confirmed that all six titles in the first-person shooter series have sold a combined 55m units worldwide.

The figure has been buoyed by the colossal success of Modern Warfare 2, which smashed UK sales figures by shifting 1.23 million copies in its first 24 hours.

In a statement, Activision chief executive Bobby Kotick claimed that Call of Duty is now one of the "greatest entertainment franchises of all time".

He added: "If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call Of Duty, it is likely to be one of the most viewed entertainment experiences in modern history."

Meanwhile, Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward has begun clamping down on PC gamers who flout the rules in multiplayer contests.

On the studio's official Twitter feed, press representative Robert Bowling said that "top men" are working on efforts to stop cheating in the game.

"In fact, the Steam ban hammer is coming down on about 2,500 confirmed MW2 cheaters on PC today," he said.

The studio's controversial decision to introduce a peer-to-peer matchmaking system for the PC game was designed to make it easier to crack down on cheating.