Call of Duty franchise has earned more than $10bn in revenue since 2003

Publishers Activision also said that the latest instalment in the series (above) had out-sold all movies, music and books this year

In the entertainment industry Call of Duty is a true behemoth. Publishers Activision announced today that since 2003 the video game franchise has taken more than $10 billion in revenue (£6.39bn), exceeding the combined ticket sales for every Hunger Games, Transformers, Iron Man and Avengers film.

Activision also confirmed that the latest titles in the series – Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – was the biggest entertainment launch of the year “besting not only all other video games, but also the biggest movies, music and books”.

"We poured our hearts into making Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare an epic ride and we are pleased with the performance," said Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg.

With more than 125 million games sold the Call of Duty franchise is working its way up the list of all-time greatest - although it may never catch up on older gaming legacies such as Mario (the top series: more than 445 million titles sold), Super Mario (262m) and Pokemon (260m).

The latest instalment in the series places players in the year 2054 with a typically bombastic plot involving private military contractors, failing democracies and an irate kevin Spacey as principal antagonist Jonathan Irons.

Reviewers have praised Advanced Warfare as something of a return to form for a series accused of formulaic campaigns and over-complicated multiplayer. This time round though the campaign’s “bubblegum sci-fi” setting has won fans, while the multiplayer has been “rejuvenated” by a new exo-suit that lets players jump and hop about maps.

Click here to read our review of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare