Modern Warfare 2 DLC sells 2.5 million

Activision has been taking fire from gamers on a number of fronts lately, with one source of ire being the pricing on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's Stimulus Package. The $15 add-on from controversy-plagued Infinity Ward included three new multiplayer maps and two updated arenas from the original Modern Warfare. That price represented a $5 premium over map packs released for 2008's Call of Duty: World at War, which included three new maps and a zombie-themed co-op battleground.

Still, those expressing grievances couldn't stop many from purchasing the game en masse. Activision said today that the Stimulus Package for its $1 billion shooter was downloaded more than 1 million times within 24 hours of availability on the Xbox 360, with sales jumping to 2.5 million within the first week.

Activision claims that these sales figures have set a new Xbox Live high-water mark, though the publisher did not indicate which specific record had been beaten. It did say, however, that Modern Warfare 2 players have spent more than 1.75 billion hours of combined game time through Xbox Live since the shooter launched in November. A request for clarification had not been returned as of press time.

In other Modern Warfare 2 news, Valve said today that gamers can check out the PC edition's multiplayer component free of charge this weekend. The free game time begins April 8, and gamers can preload the Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer mode now through Valve's online distribution service Steam.

The Stimulus Package is also slated to arrive for PlayStation 3 and PC at an as-yet-unannounced date. Check out GameSpot's video walk-through of the five maps, below, for an idea of what to expect from the Stimulus Package.