Industry sales data reveals Call of Duty has held an unbroken streak as the top-selling shooter franchise in the U.S. market for 18 consecutive years. Since 2006, no other dedicated first-person or third-person shooter has outsold the annual Call of Duty release in unit sales.
The data comes from U.S. retail tracking that measures physical and digital full-game purchases. The metric specifically covers premium titles that players buy outright, not free-to-play games or subscription access.
Call of Duty has only lost the overall number-one spot across all genres a handful of times. Grand Theft Auto V took the top position in 2013. Red Dead Redemption 2 claimed it in 2018. Most recently, Hogwarts Legacy topped the charts in 2023.
Even in those years, Call of Duty still placed second or third overall. Within the shooter category specifically, it remained unchallenged. However, the data doesn’t capture free-to-play behemoths like Fortnite, Apex Legends, or Call of Duty: Warzone itself, since those games generate revenue through microtransactions rather than unit sales.
What could finally challenge the streak
Battlefield poses the most credible threat to CoD‘s dominance. Battlefield 6 debuted as the best-selling game of 2025 in the US, and could challenge Call of Duty‘s position as a leader on the FPS market.
Battlefield 6‘s strong launch represents the first serious shooter competition CoD has faced in years. The series had lost momentum after Battlefield 2042‘s disastrous release, but the latest entry appears to’ve recaptured player interest.
Looking ahead, Grand Theft Auto VI looms as the most likely candidate to knock Call of Duty from the overall top spot when it eventually releases. The franchise has a proven track record of breaking sales records. Within the shooter category specifically, the question remains whether Battlefield can sustain its current momentum or if Call of Duty‘s annual machine will simply adjust and continue rolling.
