Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is now out, and that doesn't even factor into the strong third quarter results Activision posted today. Total sales climbed from $745 million to $754 million as the company further established its digital offerings. In fact, digital accounted for 57% of the company's record revenues for the quarter. Earnings per share also tripled, from $0.04 to $0.13.
The main drivers of the bottom line for Activision Blizzard have been Call of Duty: Black Ops, which has been the #1 best-selling title in dollars in aggregate across all platforms in the U.S. and Europe for each of the first three quarters of 2011, and Blizzard Entertainment's two top-10 PC games in the U.S. and Europe: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.
Robert Kotick, Chief Executive Officer, Activision Blizzard, said, "Today, we launched Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which is perhaps the most anticipated video game in history and Call of Duty Elite, our new online service that makes playing together easier and more fun than ever before. Call of Duty Elite is a truly new form of entertainment combining Facebook-like social networking features and online television shows, offering the most accessible way to play Call of Duty games with other people."
Kotick continued, "We continue to strengthen our position as the worldwide leader in interactive entertainment and the broadening of our audiences is confirmation that games are becoming as important as film and television as a mass-market form of entertainment. Our record nine-month results were driven the by the continued strength of our online-enabled franchises. Based on our third-quarter performance, stronger than expected consumer response to our new entertainment property, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventures, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, we are raising our full-year financial outlook and expect once again to deliver record operating margins and the highest earnings per share in our company's history."
"One of Activision Blizzard's greatest skills is the creation and introduction of new intellectual properties. On October 16, we released Skylanders: Spyro's Adventures — a uniquely immersive entertainment experience that integrates the world of toys, video games and online play. The game has received terrific reviews and sales so far are exceeding our expectations. Millions of Skylander toys are already in kids' hands, and we expect the game will be a great holiday success."
Kotick added, "As we focus on 2012, we have a strong product pipeline which features a minimum of two highly-anticipated new titles from Blizzard Entertainment, including Diablo III, and a new Call of Duty game from Activision Publishing. As a result, we expect to deliver another year of profitable growth. I believe our unyielding commitment to excellence and our creative talent around the globe will continue to position Activision Blizzard as the leader in interactive entertainment."
So another Call of Duty is planned for next year... who could have guessed?
