Modern Warfare takes No.1 spot on UK Christmas chart

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare claimed the top spot on the UK all formats chart during the week ended December 21 following a 42% jump in sales week-on-week.

It means a Call of Duty game has now held the Christmas No.1 spot nine times. The last time the series topped the chart at Christmas was in 2017, when Call of Duty: WW2 was No.1. Last year Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 took the crown.

Activision’s series has moved ahead of EA’s FIFA franchise, which has claimed the Christmas No.1 spot eight times, according to GamesIndustry.biz.

Sales of the latest series entry were up 73% week-on-week, helping FIFA 20 chart in second place last week, ahead of fellow EA title Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

Respawn’s action adventure game enjoyed a 23% sales increase week-on-week, coinciding with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s theatrical release last Thursday.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Luigi’s Mansion 3 rounded off the top five, ahead of Pokémon Sword, Just Dance 2020, Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games, and Crash Bandicoot Games titles N.Sane Trilogy and Crash Team Racing,

The UKIE/GfK UK chart only covers physical sales.

A Modern Warfare update released last week introduced new maps, a fresh game mode and new Spec Ops experiences.

Activision claims Modern Warfare’s multiplayer component is the most played at launch of any Call of Duty game this generation.