The much-anticipated Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 video game has gone on sale today.

One of the most highly-anticipated video games of 2009 has gone on sale today (Tuesday 10 November) – Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, from Activision Publishing.

In the US, more than 10,000 retail outlets opened doors precisely at midnight to sell the much sought-after title.

The game had a reported 4.5 million pre-release orders across the world, and both sales and reviews are looking positive for the sixth release in the Call of Duty series.

Developed by Infinity Ward, the game gives players the chance to be a member of a military strike force that takes on a Russian ultra-nationalist terrorist group. It sees the combat team travelling to Russia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Brazil and into orbit, in an attempt to thwart the terrorists.

Vince Zampella, CEO of Infinity Ward, said: “From day one the goal was to bring our fans around the world the most riveting and authentic experience we’ve ever created in Modern Warfare 2.

“Every design from the smallest detail was crafted to place gamers in the centre of their own epic, action movie – with the suspense, excitement and adrenaline as if they were starring themselves.

The dramatic score for Modern Warfare 2 has been composed by the award-winning Hans Zimmer – creating a truly cinematic gaming experience.

In addition to the single player campaign, the game also offers an entirely new gameplay mode “Special Ops” which supports two-player co-operative play via online or split screen dropping gamers into a surplus of time-trial and objective-based missions.

It is rated “M” (Mature) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language and is available now for the Microsoft’s Xbox 360, the Sony PlayStation 3, both for around £45, and Windows PC for £35.

Also available today is a version for the Nintendo DS(TM) – Call of Duty(R): Modern Warfare(R): Mobilized, rated “T” (Teen) and Call of Duty(R): Modern Warfare(R) Reflex Edition for Wii is also now available.

Sales tracking company VG Chartz is predicting that the multi-platform release of Modern Warfare 2 will become the fastest-selling video game in history, with predicted worldwide sales of six to seven million units during its first week of release.