Call Of Duty Clamps Down On Fans Who Spread Criticism As Franchise Exceeds $10 Billion In Worldwide Sales

The Inquisitr previously reported that specialists in the gaming industry had forecast a decline in sales for the Call Of Duty franchise after the release of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. But like many forecasts, this one proved to be wrong.

Game publisher of the Call Of Duty franchise, Activision, recently reported that since the November 3 release of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, the franchise has topped $10 billion in worldwide sales since its creation more than a decade ago.

According to PC Magazine, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, the eleventh major entry in the Call of Duty series, was the “highest-selling digital launch in console history” based on data gleaned from Sony’s PlayStation Network, Microsoft’s Xbox Live, and Activision’s own internal accounting.

“Since Activision created the Call of Duty franchise in 2003, franchise revenues have exceeded $10 billion in sales worldwide, far exceeding box office receipts for such household movie franchises as Hunger Games, Transformers, Iron Man, and Avengers, combined.”

But why is the latest entry in the Call Of Duty series so popular among fans?

According to PC Magazine, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is appealing because of the new features that were added. Because the game is set four decades in the future, a number of futuristic elements were added, including more advanced weapons.

Despite the positive reception from fans, some have found shortcomings with the latest Call of Duty installment and have started posting videos showing glitches and exploits on YouTube.

But Activision is not having it.

Ars Technica reported that Activision has been issuing copyright takedowns on videos showing glitches and exploits in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.

Ars Technica also reported that popular gaming video network Machinima has warned its creators to be careful, as Activision is issuing takedown notices on videos showing glitches.

“Machinima was prompted to take this action in order to inform its network partners so that they would remain in good standing on YouTube. When a channel receives a certain number of strikes it is possible that they may be blocked as a YouTube partner. Machinima’s actions are to protect not only its network partners, but its publisher partners as well.”

But Activision said it is only targeting videos that promote cheating and unfair exploits.

“… that is, videos that highlight how to gain advantages in online matches. As always, we keep an eye out for these videos — our level of video claims hasn’t changed. We are appreciative of the community’s support in helping to ensure that everyone has the best playing experience possible.”

According to PC Magazine, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare gamers played more than 370 million online matches and leveled up more than 200 million times in the game’s online multiplayer mode in the first week of the game’s release.