Activision Performs Better than Expected, Plans Big Launches

Activision Blizzard has announced quite a good first quarter from a financial perspective, the net revenues rising 33% in order to reach 1.3 billion dollars, with non GAAP numbers set to 714 million dollars.

The company also says it has managed better profits than during the same period of 2009 and that it has exceeded the expectations of analysts who are watching the videogames industry. The company plans to launch a share buy back program in the coming months while also aiming to deliver better returns to shareholders.

Bobby Kotick, the Chief Executive Officer of Activision, said that “Our better-than-expected first quarter performance was driven by strong global consumer demand for Activision’s Call of Duty and Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft.” He also thinks that the publisher is in a very good position to launch another very important franchise in collaboration with Halo developer Bungie, as a result of a deal signed for new intellectual property created in the next ten-year period.

The future also looks pretty good for Activision Blizzard. The company plans to launch Blur, a new racing title built around the idea of powerups, Singularity, a first person shooter based around a mysterious island and the ability of the player to actually manipulate time itself, Shrek Forever, a title based on the DreamWorkds animation series, and Transformers: War for Cybertron, a new title based around cars that turn into robots and their never ending battles.

The second quarter does not look great but Activision will launch true blockbusters in the second half of the year. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty should arrive worldwide on July 27, while Call of Duty: Black Ops has a launch date set for November. Activision has also confirmed it plans to put out a new Guitar Hero game, a fresh James Bond title and DJ Hero 2.