Modern Warfare 2 makes $401M in first 24-hours, wins a Guinness

Modern Warfare 2 has won a Guinness World Record for becoming the most successful entertainment launch of all time, as it raked in $401M during its first 24-hours of launch.

With verified one day sales totaled $401.6M (£242.4M) worldwide, it nabbed the title away from Grand Theft Auto IV, which was the previous record holder with $310M (£159M) in its first day on sale in 2008, and the previous record-holder, Halo 3, which took in $170M (£84M) its first 24 hours on sale.

Infinity Ward received a Guinness last year for“the most popular online console game” due to Call of Duty 4 being played by 13 million people on Xbox Live since November 2007.

"Videogame releases such as the Call of Duty series have outperformed the launches of major Hollywood blockbusters for several years and the day-one sales for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 proved once again that video games have become cultural events in their own right," said Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition Editor, Gaz Deaves.

"The fan movement and hype surrounding this game in the run-up to launch was almost unprecedented in scale; we acknowledged early on that the big question wasn't if it would break all-time entertainment records, but rather by how much."

Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling's response to the award gave all accolades to the game's community for the support it has shown the developer over the years.

"This achievement is a reflection of the support from our community of fans around the world," he said. "The Call of Duty series and Modern Warfare have been our passion - we've dedicated our lives to giving our best, so it's an honor to be recognized by setting a new standard among all entertainment properties."

$401 million, eh? Guess now execs can afford to buy that island they've always wanted.