Ever since the launch of Halo 3 in September 2007, the sci-fi shooter has been the number one game on Xbox live without fail every single week.

However, Xbox Live's Director of Programming, Major Nelson, is now reporting that Call of Duty 4 gamers have turned out in their droves last week and, based on global unique users, has finished top of the charts for Xbox live activity for the week ending 14th January.

Before Halo 3, the epic Gears of War dominated the Xbox live lobbies, but the biggest grossing game of all time soon took the number one spot. It was going to take a special game to knock Halo 3 from the top of the charts,and it appears that the new influx of Xbox 360 gamers over Christmas have chosen to spend their money on Call of Duty 4 rather than Bungie's shooter.

Here's the current list of top performing Xbox live titles, based on unique user activity:

1 Call of Duty 4
2 Halo 3
3 Guitar Hero III
4 Gears of War
5 Rock Band
6 Madden NFL 08
7 Assassin's Creed
8 Mass Effect
9 FIFA 08
10 Forza Motorsport 2

Meanwhile, the most played Xbox live arcade title is Metal Slug 3, closely followed by a number of new IP's, including the recently released, Boogie Bunnies and Omega Five.

Top Arcade Titles
1 Metal Slug 3
2 Boogie Bunnies
3 Omega Five
4 TRON
5 UNO
6 Bomberman LIVE
7 TMNT 1989 Arcade
8 Sonic The Hedgehog 2
9 Worms
10 Marble Blast Ultra