Bring in millions of dollars

Aug 2, 2010 22:11 GMT  ·  By

We already know that Treyarch, as the developer, and Activision, as the publisher, will be launching Call of Duty: Black Ops this fall but the future of the well known franchise is a bit cloudy when 2011 starts. One of the most present rumors is saying that Activision is interested in creating a MMO based around Call of Duty, with the initial launch poised to come in China and other South Eastern Asian markets.

Mike hickey, who is an analyst of the video game industry working with Janco Partners, recently said that Activision Blizzard and NetEase, the company that handles World of Warcraft operations on the Chinese market, might be working on a licensing deal that includes a Call of Duty MMO. The analyst estimates that the game could generate between 50 and 100 million dollars from sales during the first year, leading to significant profits for both the companies.

Bobby Kotick, the outspoken Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard, recently talked about a possible vision for the future which includes turning the well known Call of Duty concept into a MMO that could equal of even surpass World of Warcraft when it comes to subscription numbers and revenue. The CEO also stated, “Today, probably 70 percent of our operating profit comes from non-console-based video games.” Considering the weak presence that Activision has on the PC market this means that MMOs are now the most important section of the company's business.

Blizzard has confirmed that, in addition to developing the Cataclysm expansion for World of Warcraft, Diablo III and the next chapter in the Starcraft 2 saga, it is working on a new MMO, but it is said to be based on new intellectual property, which rules out a Call of Duty project. Any official news about a MMO based on the first person shooter will not appear before the launch of Black Ops on November 9 of this year.