14 DAY TRIAL // Activision Blizzard has announced a growth of 12 percent in its profits for the fiscal second quarter of the year to 219 million dollars, with the main reason cited being an increase in the revenue derived from digital ventures. For the three months that ended on June 30 the publisher has managed to see a decrease in its revenue by 7%, from 1.04 billion dollars to 967 million. Overall online derived revenue went up bu about 20%.
The biggest performs for the second quarter has been Call of Duty, with Activision saying that the games are part of the number one third party franchise as tracked by the NPD Group. The publisher also recently revealed that the map packs for the games in the series have managed to sell more than 20 million units. The Blizzard made games also made an impact, with Activision citing World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, World of Warcraft Battle Chest, and Diablo Battle Chest. The company could also not resists talking about the triumphant launch of Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty although it will only make an impact on the financial front in about three months.
Bobby Kotick, the Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard, has stated, “Our quarterly results were fueled by continued strong consumer response to Activision Publishing's Call of Duty franchise and Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft. For the first and second quarters, we outperformed our earnings per share outlook, and we grew our operating margin year over year for the six month period, driven by our focused effort to increase digital revenues.”
This fall Activision Blizzard is getting ready for two behemoth launches. Treyarch is set to deliver Call of Duty: Black Ops, a new first person shooter that takes the series to the covert battlefields of the Cold War, while Blizzard is putting the finishing touches on Cataclysm, the newest expansion for the World of Warcraft MMO.