Call of Duty is a juggernaut on home gaming consoles and PCs — and it’s finding players on mobile as well.
Activision announced today that Call of Duty: Heroes has reached 30 million downloads worldwide on Apple’s App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, and Amazon’s Appstore. This free-to-play mobile game doesn’t try to replicate the challenging first-person shooter mechanics of the blockbuster series. Instead, it’s a strategy game where you build bases and attack the strongholds of other players. It’s the No. 67 strategy game on iOS, according to App Annie, giving the franchise a foothold in the what could be a $36.9 billion mobile market, according to today’s updated forecast from marketing research firm Newzoo.
Call of Duty is the biggest franchise in gaming, bringing in $10 billion since its debut in 2003.
The publisher is also pushing out its version 2.4 update, which brings a new Challenge mode. This gives players a specific amount of resources (like troops and heroes) and tasks them with clearing a series of seven stages. If you win, you get additional resources and a new reward, Challenge Coins.
The update adds a new perk system, one that’s grounded in similar mechanics available in the console and PC games. It introduces new abilities that you can craft with Challenge Coins. You can also earn these upgrades from Helipad Supply Drops or through in-game events.
Call of Duty: Heroes debuted in 2014 in one of the fiercest categories in mobile: strategy games. Clash of Clans and Game of War have dominated this sector, and even Call of Duty’s lure hasn’t been able to unseat them.