Call Of Duty Mobile Is Off To A Fast Start With Huge Download Numbers

The new Call of Duty mobile game--appropriately named Call of Duty Mobile--is off to an extremely strong start. Research company SensorTower reports that the game has accumulated around 148 million downloads across iOS and Android since its release on October 1, an extraordinary figure. That makes it the second most successful mobile game in history in terms of first-month downloads; it's only behind the wildly popular and zeitgeist-defining Pokemon Go on that front.

Call of Duty Mobile was developed by Chinese company Tencent's TiMi Studios subsidiary in partnership with Activision. The game is a "greatest hits" title of sorts, featuring some of the most popular and memorable maps, modes, and characters from Call of Duty history. You can read more about it in our Call of Duty Mobile review.

In terms of comparisons against other games in the shooter category, Call of Duty Mobile's 148 million first-month downloads is more than four times Fortnite's first-month downloads (35 million). However, that game was only available on iOS at launch. The mobile version of PUBG had 60.7 million downloads in its first month, according to the report.

SensorTower's data shows that Call of Duty Mobile had around 4.9 million downloads every day across iOS and Google Play, starting with 24 million downloads on the first day. In terms of geographic breakdown, the US made up the lion's share of downloads with 23.6 million, or 16 percent of the total, followed by India with 16.2 million downloads (11 percent of the total).

Looking at spending, Call of Duty Mobile made around $53.9 million from its various microtransactions during the first month. The busiest single day was October 5, on which players collectively spent $3.1 million. The US leads the way in terms of spending with $22.8 million so far; Japan was second with $7 million.

The report says downloads were spread almost evenly between iOS and Android, but iOS players are spending more, making up 60 percent of all revenue.

Call of Duty Mobile features two main multiplayer modes: a traditional 5v5 head-to-head mode and battle royale game type for up to 100 players. The game features a number of iconic Call of Duty maps, including Nuketown 2, Crash, Hijacked, and Firing Range. Familiar characters are also featured, including Captain Price, Alex Mason, and Simon "Ghost" Riley.

Given the massive success of Call of Duty Mobile, fans can expect even more mobile games from Activision. Just recently, the company said it is considering every one of its franchises for a mobile game.

It's not just Call of Duty Mobile that's performing well. This year's new console game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, generated $600 million in revenue at launch and is expected to sell as many as 27 million copies during its launch quarter. Activision will make even more money from the game when the Battle Pass goes live in December.