Black Ops 2 sell-through estimated at $500 million worldwide

Black Ops 2 has moved an estimated sell-through of over $500 million worldwide in the first 24 hours of its release, according to Chart-Track, Activision has announced.

Black Ops 2 launched November 13, and 16,000 retailers opened at midnight for the launch, with US retailer GameStop selling 1 million copies during its midnight events.

In the UK, Blockbuster reported over 10,000 copies were sold at launch within the first five minutes of availability.

The game has also become the most pre-ordered game in Amazon's history, according to the company's figures.

"With first day sales of over half a billion dollars worldwide, we believe Call of Duty is the biggest entertainment launch of the year for the fourth year in a row," said Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.

"Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise have exceeded worldwide theatrical box office receipts for "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars," the two most successful movie franchises of all time. Given the challenged macro-economic environment, we remain cautious about the balance of 2012 and 2013."

Analysts estimated this week the shooter sold between 6.5 million and 7.2 million units day-one, rivaling Modern Warfare 3′s day-one unit sales of 6.5 million in 2011.

The Infinity Ward shooter generated $775 million in revenue during its first five days on the market and hit $1 billion in sale during its first 16 days of availability.

Black Ops 2 is out on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 and will release on Wii U November 18