Seven of the Top-Selling Games of the Decade were Call of Duty Titles
Call of Duty has long been one of the top-selling franchises in the gaming market, but in a decade defined by shifting trends, from MOBAs to Battle Royales, it’s hard to know for sure just how well the franchise is performing. Now, thanks to a report from the NPD Group, an industry analytics company, we know which ten games were the top-selling games of the decade. While Call of Duty may have lost out on the top spot to GTA V, the franchise nevertheless dominated the list overall, taking no less than seven of the ten places!
Top-Selling Games of the Decade: Call of Duty Dominates the 2010s
The findings, which were recently shared online by noted journalist Geoff Keighley, underline the obvious success of Call of Duty in the 2010s. The series evidently has an extremely strong and dedicated audience, especially for its Black Ops series; every one of the four Black Ops titles made it onto the list, with the original Call of Duty: Black Ops coming in second-place behind GTA V. Of course, it’s no surprise to see that game in the top spot. After all, it has become the most successfull entertainment property of all-time. However, it wasn’t Rockstar’s only title on the list; Red Dead Redemption 2 managed to come in at #7.
The only game which wasn’t published by Rockstar or Activision that managed to find a spot on the list was Minecraft; the tenth best-selling game of the 2010s. That too is not altogether surprising. After all, sales of the game were aggressively pushed by Microsoft even after it had already become extremely successful. In examining the findings of this report, it is perhaps important to note that the “10 top-selling games of the decade” do not include games which aren’t sold; i.e. free-to-play titles. Were the report to include such games, Fortnite would almost certainly have a place on the list.
In fact, around 80% of the revenue which the gaming industry generates currently comes from free-to-play games; a trend which is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. So-called “premium” titles (i.e. games which you buy to play) generate plenty of attention but far less long-term revenue. Looking ahead to the 2020s, it remains to be seen whether Call of Duty will continue dominating the premium market. However, if Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s recent success is any indication, then it certainly seems likely that it will.