Tesco has revealed it will be staging its biggest-ever night of midnight events for the launch of the latest title in the smash-hit Call of Duty series.

Six hundred of the retailer’s stores will be open at midnight on Monday for the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, with 150 stores extending their opening hours specially for the event. Tesco said this would mean it had more stores open at midnight than any other retailer.

Stores will be running giveaways and providing food and drink for fans who are queuing for the game, while Tesco’s flagship Cheshunt Extra store is playing host to a monster truck kitted out with consoles and will offer gamers the chance to compete for Black Ops merchandise.

Tesco said it had already taken more pre-orders for the certificate-18 game - which it is selling at £39.97 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 - than any other. Black Ops 2 was on course to be the biggest release of the year, eclipsing Fifa 13, added the retailer.

“It’s been a big year for gaming releases and this is going to be a great climax,” said Tesco games buying manager Nick Cooke. “Thousands of gaming fans will be able to pick up Black Ops 2 the moment it’s released. We’re looking forward to a great atmosphere in stores up and down the country.”

The launch of CoD: Black Ops 2 comes exactly a week after the release of Halo 4 on the Xbox 360.