The game, made by developer Treyarch, is expected to sell 13m-15m units this quarter, slightly less than its Modern Warfare predecessor made by the Infinity Ward studio. But this will only be the start of a campaign to fulfil the game’s earnings potential.

Its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, remained the top game in the following three quarters after its release a year ago, helped by significant digital sales of add-on map packs that extended the battlefield and the franchise.

Digital revenues are a bright spot for an industry that has seen an 8 per cent decline of its traditional “packaged goods” disc-based business so far this year, according to the NPD research firm.

Retail sales have become a double-edged sword for publishers – the game discs that are sold are often traded back once played by consumers and exchanged at the stores for other used games, denying publishers further revenues.