Gamers queued up outside shops around the world last night to be among the first to get their hands on a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which was released at midnight.
The latest game in the hugely popular series was launched by 16,000 retailers across the globe in cities including London, Sydney, Dubai, Paris and Los Angeles.
Taylor Pelling, 19, from Sutton, Surrey, was first to buy a copy at HMV's Oxford Street store in London.
The media student at St Mary's University in Twickenham started queuing on Wednesday just after 5pm.
He said: "I've attended a few midnight events at HMV, most recently for Diablo III, when I was sixth in the queue, but this time I was determined to be first in line.
"I love Call of Duty and I know the launch is going to be pretty spectacular, so being at the front of the queue to buy it will make it an even more memorable experience for me."
It is predicted that sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops II will beat previous instalment Modern Warfare 3, which accumulated more than $400 million (£248m) in sales on its first day in stores in US and the UK.
Modern Warfare 3 set a video game industry record and garnered $1 billion in revenues 16 days after launch.
The new Call of Duty will be available for PC, Xbox and PlayStation consoles, while a dedicated Wii U version will be released when the new console hits stores on November 18.
Mark Lamia, Head of developer Treyarch Studio, said: “From day one, we’ve pushed ourselves to make the best gaming experience of our lives and I am so incredibly proud with what this team has created with Call of Duty: Black Ops II."
The game features a soundtrack that includes composer Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, BAFTA nominee Jack Wall, tracks from Avenged Sevenfold and an original collaboration between dubstep producer Skrillex and Alvin Risk.
The storyline has been co-written by David S. Goyer, screenwriter for The Dark Knight.
The single player game begins in the Cold War era and its campaign takes players through to the year 2025, with branching storylines and multiple endings.
The multiplayer mode includes new customisation options and a 'Score Streaks' system that aims to level the playing field for novices and veterans by rewarding players for helping their team.
For the first time players will be able to live stream multiplayer games in real-time to YouTube, so that anyone online can watch them play.
The game will also be packaged with the 'Zombie' spin-off game, in which players pit their abilities against an unrelenting horde of the undead.
Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, said: "From the very beginning, our goal with Call of Duty: Black Ops II was to deliver a new high watermark for the franchise. And thanks to the hard work and creative brilliance of our team at Treyarch, I think that's exactly what we've done."
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