NPD August 2018: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from 2009 was a top-seller

It’s no suprise Call of Duty be among the U.S. top 10 best-selling titles of the month. The annual military shooter franchise is among the top-selling games of every year. But it is strange to see one of its older installments hit the charts. According to The NPD Group, 2009’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the No. 8 best-selling game in the U.S. in August.

So, uh, why? Well, the Xbox 360 version of Modern Warfare 2 became backward compatible with the Xbox One on August 28. This drove sales of the shooter to an insane degree. In July, Modern Warfare 2 was only the No. 321 best-selling game. This growth shows that many people just want a way to play older games that doesn’t involve keeping an obsolete console around. And this doesn’t just apply to the old games they have laying around. They’re willing to go out and buy them (or stay in, if they’re using the newfangled internet contraption to make digital purchases).