Publisher Activision is now spreading the word that its shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 generated over $500 million worldwide during the first 24 hours on sale, according to Chart-Track. They also confirmed that on November 13, 2012, millions of fans attended over 16,000 midnight openings at retail stores across the globe.

"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 Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc. "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."

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is out now and is available in Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC variants. The new addition to the Call of Duty series is going to hit Wii U later this month, upon the console's launch.