Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the highest earning entertainment launch ever. The game has reportedly sold more than 4.7 million copies in the US and UK alone since launch, raking in $300 million plus on its first day of launch.

According to the company’s internal sales figures the game has “shattered” the previous launch sales record of $310 held by GTA IV and even eclipsed the entertainment industry record held the Hollywood blockbuster The Dark Knight.

"The Call of Duty franchise has become a cultural phenomenon showing the power of video games as an entertainment medium," said Activision chief executive Mike Griffith.

These records were broken despite a call from PC gamers to boycott the game in protest against lack of dedicated servers to host online gameplay.