Activision Blizzard, maker of ‘Call of Duty’, is acquired by Microsoft for $69 billion
"For more than 30 years, our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games"
Videogame franchise from the developer Activision has recently launched its mobile version of the famous war game of all-time “Call of Duty”. After its initial availability, it racked up 100 million downloads in its first week, as per various reports. So much so that it is dwarfing the debuts of previous smashes including “Fortnite” and “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG).
PUBG, Fortnite and Electronic Arts’ “Apex Legends” scored 26.3 million, 22.5 million and 25 million respectively in their first week of release.
“Call of Duty: Mobile” (CODMobile) was launched by its publisher Activision Blizzard Inc on October 1 and as per reports reflected worldwide unique downloads across Apple’s App Store and Google Play in the period since.
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The gameplay includes and portrays the player as a “first-person-shooter game” that allows gamers to portray elite soldiers hunting down targets in different parts of the world. COD is a console and PC based game and have enjoyed a loyal following but the dramatic rise of free-to-play online games have forced companies to adapt and develop their games for the smaller screen.
“Call of Duty” was developed for mobile by Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, which also has a stake in PUBG’s Bluehole and Fortnite’s Epic Games and is credited with popularizing the battle-royale format, where dozens of online players battle each other to death.
Indians second the charts for downloads close to 17 per cent of the US. Tencent is yet to launch the game in China. Activision, which will launch the next console edition of “Call of Duty” on Oct. 25, has labelled 2019 a “transition year”.
(With input from agencies)
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