Black Ops 3 was the best selling game of 2015 at retail in the US; franchise has surpassed 250 million units sold to date

NPD Group has released the numbers for both December 2015 results and the entire 2015, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 was #1 on both the lists. The NPD Group measures sales at retailers in the US only.

Activision provided the following statement regarding Call of Duty: Black Ops 3’s success. In the statement, Activision revealed that the Call of Duty franchise has sold over 250 million units life to date worldwide.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops III was the top selling title of 2015 globally by a wide-margin in both units and dollars sold-thru. This also marks the seventh year in a row that Call of Duty has been the #1 selling franchise in North America, according to NPD. In fact, Call of Duty has surpassed 250 million units sold life-to-date worldwide.  This achievement is thanks to the amazing experiences created by all of our development teams, and would not be possible without the  incredible passion from the Call of Duty community. We congratulate Treyarch on creating an incredibly engaging and an enormously fun game with Black Ops III and look forward to what’s to come in 2016,” said Rob Kostich, senior vice president and general manager, Call of Duty, Activision.

December 2015 NPD Results:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
2. Star Wars: Battlefront (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
3. Fallout 4 (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
4. Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
5. NBA 2K16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
6. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3, PC)
7. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
8. Minecraft (360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3)
9. Minecraft: Story Mode: A Telltale Game Series (360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3)
10. FIFA 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)

2015 NPD Results: 

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
2. Madden NFL 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
3. Fallout 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
4. Star Wars: Battlefront (Xbox One, PS4, PC)
5. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One) 360, PS3, PC)
6. NBA 2K16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
7. Minecraft (360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4)
8. FIFA 16 (PS4, Xbox One, 360, PS3)
9. Mortal Kombat X (PS4, Xbox One)
10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)

In terms of digital, Activision announced back in November following launch that Black Ops 3 broke digital sale records on the PlayStation Store.

Sony issued a statement earlier this evening that the PlayStation 4 console was the best selling console of December 2015 and of the year in the US.

“As we reflect on an amazing year, we want to thank fans and partners for making PlayStation 4 the top selling console in December and in 2015. PS4 also had the strongest third-party software sales in 2015 in the U.S., according to NPD.

The momentum and enthusiasm for the platform continued throughout the year, resulting in cumulative sales of more than 35.9 million since the launch of PS4. During the holiday season alone, more than 5.7 million PS4s and 35 million PS4 games were sold through to consumers worldwide. We look forward to another great year and bringing an extensive portfolio of games from our publisher partners and SCE Worldwide Studios to fans in 2016.”