Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be 2019’s best-selling game, says NPD

Days after disembarking the E3 2019 hype train, our eyes are firmly glued to 2020 and what gaming delights the industry has in store of us. However, while it’s easy to get carried away with Cyberpunk 2077, Watch Dogs Legion, and many of the show’s other highlights, 2019’s holiday season will also see a number of heavy hitters go head to head.

According to NPD video game industry analyst, Mat Piscatella, Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will ultimately come out on top.

In a recent blog outlining his key takeaways from E3 2019, Piscatella estimates that Infinity Ward’s reboot of the popular first person shooter franchise will be 2019’s best selling game in the United States, followed by NBA 2K20 and Madden NFL 20. He notes that while Modern Warfare will soar to the top of this year’s sales charts, it won’t match the runaway success of last year’s Red Dead Redemption 2.

Rounding out his top five are Borderlands 3, Star Wars Jedi: The Fallen Order. See the table below for Piscatella’s predicted best sellers of 2019.

With Call of Duty’s enduring popularity as one of the industry’s top flight multiplayer series, we wouldn’t doubt its chances of conquering the charts this holiday season. The usually busy end of year period seems a little sparse compared to more recent years and Activision won’t have to go up against EA and its rival Battlefield series.

Announced last month, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will essentially press the reset button on Infinity Ward’s landmark franchise. From what we’ve seen it’s far more personal than previous games, exploring themes such as morality in war while doing away with some of the bombastic set piece action Modern Warfare became known for.

It will be interesting to see how this shift in focus will effect the game’s online multiplayer. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is slated for a PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC release on October 25th, 2019.

Source: NPD Group