Black Ops 3: Black Ops is COD’s Most Popular Series

Speaking at the Q1 company call to investors, CEO Eric Hirshberg stated that Call of Duty: Black Ops is the most played series in the franchise's history. 

The executive said that nearly 100 million players own both Black Ops and Black Ops 2, with the latter title showing continued engagement among players. The investor call was transcribed by The Street.

"We recently revealed Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 from our award-winning studio, Treyarch, nearly 100 million players have Black Ops and Black Ops 2, making Black Ops the most played series in Call of Duty history. In fact, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, originally released in 2012, continues to exhibit record-setting engagement this long after release, with millions of actively engaged players who are now eager for the next installment of the series," said Hirshberg, who explained that Black Ops 3 is Treyarch's first three-year development cycle title. 

One of the benefits of having a three-year dev cycle is being able to bring the game to the press ahead of its release. 

"In fact, positive media sentiment is double what it was last year, and mind you, last year with our previous high water mark. We're confident that anyone who gets their hands on the game will agree, which is why we are going to have hands-on multiplayer at E3, as well as this year our first beta in years."

Hirshberg went on to share some specifics about the Call of Duty franchise. 

"In the first quarter, revenue was up by a double-digit percentage year over year, due to the strong sell-through of Advanced Warfare, and growing online revenues per user across our recent Call of Duty titles. Sales of season pass and map packs were up significantly," stated Hirshberg. "And we introduced a new consumable digital mechanic in Advanced Warfare, which drove engagement and allowed our players to invest more deeply in their online experience."

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is out on November 6 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.