Microsoft Game Studios announced that Halo 2 has now sold more than 5 million copies worldwide since its launch on November 9. Therefore, the Halo franchise has exceeded the 11 million unit mark, with cumulative sales from Halo: Combat Evolved, "Halo 2" and "Halo" for Windows. As its predecessor, Halo 2 boosted the Xbox console sales in the United States, which increased nearly 50 percent in sales this week, when compared to Thanksgiving week last year.