The video game industry is now a battle of billion dollar launches, with Activision announcing this morning that Call of Duty: Ghosts has shipped a billion dollars worth of the game into retail. The semi-awkward victory lap comes on the day Activision is set to announce its second quarter results.

"Call of Duty is by far the largest console franchise of this generation," said Activision CEO Bobby Kotick as part of the announcement - a very, very accurate assessment. "And in the last 12 months, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, including its digital content, generated more revenues than any other console game ever has in a single year. Although it is too early to assess sell-through for Call of Duty: Ghosts, it's launching at a time when the franchise has never been more popular."

The billion dollar mark was likely chosen to contrast the game's accomplishment with that of Grand Theft Auto 5, which sold $1 billion at retail in three days. Call of Duty: Ghosts was the "most pre-ordered" game at GameStop this year.