Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Crossed $1 Billion in Sales Within 10 Days of Launch, Says Activision

Video game maker Activision Blizzard beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter adjusted sales on Monday, thanks to the success of the latest game in its Call of Duty franchise.

A series of launches in October and November, including

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Warzone 2.0, and World of Warcraft: Dragonflight from the fantasy world of Azeroth have helped the company capture the attention of the gaming community.

As inflation squeezes US household budgets, more gamers are expected to stick with their favorite game franchises, instead of experimenting with new titles from other studios, helping companies such as Activision, said the analysts.

Modern Warfare II recorded the highest first-quarter sales in the franchise’s history and crossed the $1 billion mark (about Rs 8,275 crore) within 10 days of its late October launch, the company said. Company.

The company expects its full-year adjusted sales to grow at least high-single digits, buoyed by game launches including Diablo IV.

Adjusted sales for the quarter ended December 31 were $3.57 billion (approximately Rs 29,540 crore), compared to an average analyst estimate of $3.16 billion (approximately Rs 26,150 crore), according to data from Refinitiv.

Activision’s upbeat results follow lackluster results from rival Electronics Arts and Xbox maker Microsoft.

Microsoft’s $69 billion (roughly Rs. 5,70,100 crore) takeover of Activision is being challenged by the US Federal Trade Commission and is being investigated by EU authorities. Activision said the companies are continuing to engage with regulators to review the transaction.

The end of Blizzard’s long-term partnership with China’s second-largest gaming company, NetEase, will void players’ access to World of Warcraft gaming in the country until an alternate partnership is formed.

This is expected to hit the US company’s net bookings of $250 million (around Rs 2,070 crore) in fiscal 2023, Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey wrote in a note last month.

Net profit for the fourth quarter fell to $403 million (approximately 3,333 crore rupees), or 51 cents per share, from $564 million (approximately 4,666 crore rupees), or 72 cents per share, a year earlier.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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