Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has won a Guinness World Record for becoming the most successful entertainment launch of all time.
The record tracker said that it had verified the title's first day sales of more than $401.6 million (£242.4 million), which breaks the record previously held by Grand Theft Auto IV with $310 million (£159 million).
The award is the second for Infinity Ward after receiving a Guinness last year for "the most popular online console game" following Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’s accomplishment of being played by 13 million people on Xbox Live since November 2007.
"Videogame releases such as the Call of Duty series have outperformed the launches of major Hollywood blockbusters for several years and the day-one sales for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 proved once again that video games have become cultural events in their own right," said Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition Editor, Gaz Deaves.
"The fan movement and hype surrounding this game in the run-up to launch was almost unprecedented in scale; we acknowledged early on that the big question wasn’t if it would break all-time entertainment records, but rather by how much."
In Robert Bowling’s response to the award, the Infinity Ward Creative Strategist credited the game’s community for the continued support it had shown the developer over the years.
"This achievement is a reflection of the support from our community of fans around the world," he said. "The Call of Duty series and Modern Warfare have been our passion – we’ve dedicated our lives to giving our best, so it’s an honor to be recognized by setting a new standard among all entertainment properties."
