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

Videogame publisher 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 string of launches in October and November, including

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

As inflation squeezes budgets of American households, more gamers are expected to stick to their favorite gaming franchises, instead of experimenting with newer titles from other studios, helping companies such as Activision, analysts have said.

Modern Warfare II delivered the highest opening-quarter sell-through in the franchise’s history and crossed the $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,275 crore) mark within 10 days of its late-October launch, the company said.

The company expects its full-year adjusted sales to grow at least in high-single digits, bolstered by the launch of games including Diablo IV.

Adjusted sales in the quarter ended December 31 came in at $3.57 billion (roughly Rs. 29,540 crore), compared with analysts’ average estimate of $3.16 billion (roughly Rs. 26,150 crore), according to Refinitiv data.

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

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

The end of Blizzard’s long-term partnership with China’s second-biggest gaming firm NetEase will rescind gamers’ access to the World of Warcraft game in the country until an alternative partnership is formed.

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

Fourth quarter net income fell to $403 million( roughly Rs. 3,333 crore), or 51 cents per share, from $564 million (roughly Rs. 4,666 crore), or 72 cents per share, a year earlier.

© Thomson Reuters 2023


 

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Iron Man Game Confirmed to Be in Development at EA’s Motive Studio

An Iron Man video game is confirmed to be in development at Electronic Arts. In a blog post, the publisher announced that its Montreal-based EA Motive Studio is working on a single-player, third-person action-adventure game, based on the titular Marvel superhero. Now in early development, the Iron Man title will feature an original narrative that “taps into the rich history of Iron Man, channelling” the personas of the armoured hero and the charismatic genius Tony Stark. Currently, there’s no word on which platforms will be supported when the game is released.

“It’s an honour and privilege to have the opportunity to make a video game based on one of the most iconic super heroes in entertainment today,” said Olivier Proulx, Executive Producer. “We have a great opportunity to create a new and unique story that we can call our own. Marvel is encouraging us to create something fresh. We have a lot of freedom, which is so engaging for the team.” Proulx, who previously worked on the critically-acclaimed Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, leads development on the upcoming Iron Man game.

The announcement aligns with a previous leak, which stated that EA was working on the said video game. While there are no concrete details on the plot, the description hints that the game serves as a lens into Stark’s complexity and “charisma.” That said, there’s a good chance such moments will be scripted, taking into account Proulx’s past experience, which involved linear storytelling. At this point, who knows. Hopefully, we get to play as Stark while he’s held up in his laboratory — akin to how WB Games Montréal incorporates its ensemble characters in the upcoming Gotham Knights game.

Motive Studio is currently actively working on a Dead Space remake, scheduled for a January 2023 launch. The blog post’s end also notes more collaborative projects between Marvel and EA. “This is an exciting new collaboration between Marvel and Electronic Arts, with Iron Man being the first of several new games,” it reads. This could very well be in reference to the open-world Black Panther game, leaked back in July.

Internally, that Black Panther game is being referred to as Project Rainer, with ex-Monolith Productions VP Kevin Stephens headlining development. As per games journalist Jeff Grubb, the premise is set following Black Panther’s death at the beginning. Players will then be tasked with completing a set of challenges — or trials — in hopes of becoming the new incarnation and king of Wakanda.

Currently, there are no details on a release window or platforms for EA’s Iron Man game, as it’s still in the early stages of development. But we could speculate that the game will be released on all major platforms — PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and Windows PC.


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