Britsoft publisher and developer Codemasters has announced that its recently released next-gen racer Colin McRae: DiRT sold a hefty 500,000 units worldwide in its first week at retail.

And more impressively for the publisher, the majority of sales came from North America – a territory in which the rejuvenated firm has previously struggled, but has recently heavily invested in.

"This success with DiRT is a text-book case of our product development, marketing and distribution efforts all working together to ignite consumer interest and drive sales," Codemasters CEO Rod Cousens stated.

"Nearly half of our first week's sales are from the US alone, which means momentum behind this series is taking hold in new territories."