Call of Duty sales down 19%

Sales of Call of Duty: Ghosts are down 19% compared to last year's Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, according to market analysis firm Cowen & Company.

Activision has previously stated that a drop in sales was to be expected due to the transition to the new Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles.

However Cowen & Company's Doug Creutz says that there is reason for the publisher to be worried.

"Upon further reflection, we think the [Call of Duty] numbers are a bit more troubling than they first appeared," he wrote in a note to investors.

"While the year-over-year gap is only 19% thus far, that includes two extra weeks of sales for the 360 and PS3 versions [of Black Ops II].

"Against 2011′s [Modern Warfare 3], where the difference is only one week, the title is down 32% life-to-date."

The Call of Duty franchise has been criticised in recent years for failing to bring innovation to the genre, and these sales figures could be an indication of fans deciding that enough is enough.