Initial UK sales figures for Advanced Warfare represents growth for the Call of Duty franchise, publisher Activision has stated.

The latest edition of the money-spinning shooter series has, according to Activision's internal numbers, outpaced sales of last year's Call of Duty: Ghosts.

However, the feat is somewhat complicated because Call of Duty: Ghosts did not ship on all consoles on its launch, which would skew the figures in Advanced Warfare's favor. Also, Advanced Warfare went on sale for an additional 24 hours than Ghosts, and the next-gen versions were available before the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One had launched in the UK.

These caveats combined means it is difficult to measure the progress Advanced Warfare has made over Ghosts.

"We are very happy with how much fans have embraced Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare as evidenced by an increase in combined retail and digital sales year-over-year in the UK," the company said in a statement issued to MCV.

"While it's still early, we think we have a great game that's fun, engaging, and will keep people playing for some time to come. Welcome to a new era of Call of Duty."

Activision's statement adds more fuel to the analysts' debate on whether Call of Duty is past its peak popularity. Doug Cruetz, of Cowen and Company, said in September that he believed preorder sales were down by about 50 percent year-on-year.

A month prior, Activision publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg insisted that the purchase intent for Advanced Warfare was "significantly above" Ghosts. However, he added that preorder sales across the industry were in decline, as consumers transition to next-gen consoles.

Advanced Warfare was generally well received among critics. GameSpot's review concluded: "For all its predictability, Advanced Warfare is a deluge of action-film bravado, and it's difficult to not be carried away by its tidal forces."

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