Who says the first-person shooter genre is getting stale? Activision (ATVI) announced on Wednesday another milestone for its recently released Call of Duty: Black Ops II game. Having made over $500 million in its first 24 hours, Black Ops II has now reached $1 billion in worldwide sales since it launched 15 days ago. By comparison, last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 took one more day to reach the same amount of worldwide sales. Activision says Black Ops II even managed to beat James Cameron’s 2009 movie Avatar, which grossed $1 billion in 17 days. Equally impressive is that 150 million hours of Black Ops II have been logged on Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network.

“Since Call of Duty was launched, cumulative franchise revenues from players around the world are greater than current worldwide box office receipts to date for the top-10 grossing films of 2012 combined,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO Activision Blizzard. “Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise have exceeded worldwide theatrical box office receipts for ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Star Wars,’ the two most successful movie franchises of all time.”

Activision’s press release follows below.

CALL OF DUTY®: BLACK OPS II GROSSES $1 BILLION IN 15 DAYS

Title Eclipses Feature Film Record for Second Consecutive Year

Santa Monica, CA – December 5, 2012 -Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that Call of Duty®: Black Ops II has crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide retail sales, according to Chart-Track retail customer sell-through information and internal company estimates. Illustrating the strong appeal of interactive entertainment to audiences worldwide, the game achieved this milestone in just 15 days after its launch on November 13, 2012. Last year’s Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®3 reached $1 billion in retail sales in 16 days. The box office record set for feature films in 2009 by “Avatar” was $1 billion in 17 days¹.

“The release of Call of Duty® has been one of the most significant entertainment events of each of the last six years,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “Since Call of Duty was launched, cumulative franchise revenues from players around the world are greater than current worldwide box office receipts to date for the top-10 grossing films of 2012 combined. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise have exceeded worldwide theatrical box office receipts for ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Star Wars,’ the two most successful movie franchises of all time.”

Since the game’s launch, more than 150 million hours have been logged online playing Call of Duty: Black Ops II on Xbox® LIVE® and PlayStation Network.

¹According to screenrant.com

“Entertainment franchises that captivate audiences for as long as Call of Duty has, on the scale that Call of Duty has, are very rare things. And it takes a lot of brilliant people working across many different disciplines to make it happen. It is incredibly humbling and gratifying to be a part of,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “In order for Call of Duty to remain the entertainment juggernaut that it is, and keep our fans coming back for more, we need to continue to bring fresh ideas and new innovations to the table every time, while always staying true to what people fell in love with in the first place. That’s what we did with Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and that’s what we intend to keep on doing. This is an incredible milestone for an incredible franchise, and I want to thank every passionate, talented, committed person on our team who made it happen.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is available at retail locations worldwide on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Wii U™ game system from Nintendo and Windows PC. The game is rated “M” (Mature – Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs – content suitable for persons ages 18 and older) by the ESRB.

More information on Call of Duty: Black Ops II can be found at http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2 or on http://www.facebook.com/codblackops. Fans can also follow @Treyarch on Twitter.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.