Old Call of Duty Games Are Dominating the Xbox Sales Chart
Since their servers have seemingly been improved after years of stagnation, several older Call of Duty games are once again topping Xbox’s store page.
Some of the most iconic Xbox 360-era Call of Duty titles are currently sitting at the top of Xbox’s Top Paid Games list after the games’ matchmaking servers have been randomly improved. The annualization of Call of Duty games over the past decade-plus meant that each new game slowly became obsolete as the Call of Duty machine continued to churn out the next title year after year.
Activision has been incredibly busy over the past several weeks and months. With the Xbox v Federal Trade Commission court case over Microsoft’s $69 Billion acquisition of Activision having concluded in the former’s favor, and the impending announcement of 2023’s heavily rumored Modern Warfare 3 looming, the Call of Duty maker has somehow found the time to go back and fix the online matchmaking of many of its most popular Xbox 360 era titles. With the help of heavy discounts, these Call of Duty games have been enjoying player count spikes as they rule Xbox’s sales charts once more.
In the Top Paid Games section of Xbox’s store, four classic Call of Duty games from the late 2000s and early 2010s have reclaimed the top four spots of the chart. Call of Duty: Black Ops, Black Ops 2, Modern Warfare 2 (2009), and Modern Warfare 3 are all at the top as they were during their glory days, with 2012’s Black Ops 2 sitting at the top spot. These four games are currently overshadowing sales behemoths like last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, NBA 2K23, and the recently released Diablo 4. Additionally, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and World at War come in at the 8th and 9th spots respectively, over games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Hogwarts Legacy, and 2022’s Game of the Year Elden Ring.
Since most of these Call of Duty games are over a decade old, all of them are tagged with hefty discounts. The fact that the multiplayer matchmaking of these games was improved just days after Xbox’s victory over the FTC to acquire Activision Blizzard has led many to believe Xbox has been behind it, but this has yet to be confirmed. Since many younger gamers never had the chance to play these old, formerly obsolete Call of Duty titles, it’s no wonder that these games are seeing huge player spikes now that they finally have the chance to do so.
It’s surreal to see Xbox 360 games top the charts in 2023. The revitalization of these games’ servers could have been orchestrated by Xbox to prepare these titles to enter Game Pass, as the outlook of its Activision Blizzard buyout looks brighter after overcoming the FTC. Perhaps this is Activision testing the waters for a Halo: The Master Chief Collection–style compilation where all the old Call of Duty multiplayer suites are available all in one place. Whatever the case may be, the rejuvenation of these classic Call of Duty games is incredible for fans of the franchise, and it’s another win for game preservation.