The last decade has seen total industry domination from Activision Blizzard in the form of its iconic shooter franchise, Call of Duty.
Every year has seen a new entry in the series, and though some flop harder than others (we’re looking at you, Vanguard), they always sell massively compared to the rest.
It’s only in recent years that we’ve seen that trend start to dissipate, and already, Call of Duty is beginning to slip in 2023.
Call of Duty loses the box office top spot for 2023
Hogwarts Legacy was the best-selling game of both February 2023 as well as 2023 year-to-date. Hogwarts Legacy also ranked 1st in February sales across each of the PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam platforms.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) March 29, 2023
It hasn’t been long since the launch of Modern Warfare II – the most successful Call of Duty title in years.
Things started strong as the best-selling game of 2022, but it’s losing its grip on its year-long presiding reign of the gaming charts.
As reported by data analysis firm Circana, Hogwarts Legacy has topped the gaming charts for both February and the entire year so far.
This means Call of Duty has been dethroned pretty early.
The Wizarding World title ranked first in sales across PlayStation, Xbox and Steam.
Modern Warfare II still comes in at second when considering year-to-date sales, but it’s pretty intense that it’s been beaten this early.
What else is topping the charts in 2023?
2023 YTD Top 20 Best-Sellers (Dollar Sales, Excludes DLC/MTX) pic.twitter.com/o1MOYDFgpV
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) March 29, 2023
The rest of the chart is interesting, and it seems a lot of new titles are entering the charts, as well as some consistent bangers clinging to their spots.
The top ten for 2023 (so far) are Hogwarts Legacy, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Dead Space, Madden NFL 23, FIFA 23, Elden Ring, Fire Emblem Engage, God of War Ragnarok, The Last of Us Part 1, and Forspoken.
The charts might still have familiar faces, but it’s good to see new games making a splash – especially when they topple the giants of the industry.
Couple this with Modern Warfare 2 hitting a new low for players on Steam, and those complaints about the CoDverse are swirling.
With all eyes on Microsoft’s impending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it feels like we’ve let our eyes off the ball regarding the myriad of issues facing the shooter series.
For now, the Call of Duty dominion is over.
