Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package Passes 2.5 Million Sold

Author: by Chris Remo, Kris Graft

Infinity Ward's "Stimulus Package" downloadable map pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has accrued 2.5 million purchases at a $15 price point in its first week of release, publisher Activision said today. According to Activision, that figure came straight from platform holder Microsoft, which also identified the figure as an all-time high for first-week downloadable content sales. Of those 2.5 million, 1 million came within the first day of release. The company didn't specify whether the record pertained to add-on content unit sales or all downloadable content. By comparison, DICE's full multiplayer game Battlefield 1943, which also sells for $15 through Live, broke records last month by being the fastest game to reach 1 million units on Xbox Live since its July 2009 release. That game also released on PlayStation 3. By comparison, the first downloadable content pack for Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare sold 1 million units in its first nine days. The Stimulus Package consists of five new multiplayer maps. It was released through Xbox Live on March 30, with temporary technical problems hampering a launch that nevertheless saw extreme commercial success. Modern Warfare 2 was also released for PC and PlayStation 3, but the game saw significantly higher sales on Xbox 360, and Activision says Microsoft's console hosts its largest player base. Still, Infinity Ward is preparing PC and PlayStation 3 versions of the content for launch later this spring. Microsoft also said that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 players have spent 1.75 billion hours of gameplay on Xbox Live.