14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher Activision Blizzard has announced its set of financial results for the fourth quarter of the current year, showing better than expected revenue and profits for the three-month period that ended on January 31.
Activision has announced that it has managed to generate 2.41 billion dollars (1.81 billion Euro) in revenue, which is a slight decline when compared to the same period for 2011, when the company reported earnings of 2.55 billion dollars (1.92 billion Euro).
This means that full year revenue was pretty much flat year over year.
The biggest contributor to the better than expected result is the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the first-person shooter developed by Infinity Ward, which has managed to sell more copies that any other title during the year and also to become the biggest entertainment launch across all media.
For the entire 2011, Activision has also revealed that it has succeeded in drawing an impressive 34 percent of its overall revenue from digital sales, with the new Elite service being the most successful initiative, with 1.5 million premium subscribers and an overall player base that goes beyond the 7 million mark.
Another solid performer was the newly launched Skylanders mix between real world toys and virtual experiences, which has managed to get more than 20 million toys in the hands of gamers.
An expansion for the game, called Giants, will be launched in the fall of this year, with 8 new normal characters and 8 toys that are double the size and have new powers.
The MMO World of Warcraft, created by Blizzard, has seen a slight drop in subscriber numbers, reaching 10.2 million players for the period down from 10.3.
Blizzard is working on the Mists of Pandaria expansion, expected in late 2012, which will introduce a new race and class along with a new continent.
Activision expects an overall revenue of 4.5 billion dollars (3.39 billion Euro) for the 2012 fiscal year, ending on March 31.