The fact Activision will make a lot of money isn’t a surprise to Train2Game students, but the publisher will make an larger revenue this quarter than originally predicted. That’s according to Analyst Cowen and Company who have raised their original estimations from $4.58 billion to $4.77 billion.
“We expect strong sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm to drive a blowout quarter.”
Regular readers of the Train2Game blog may remember how both of these Activision published games have been very, very successful. Call of Duty: Black Ops was the biggest selling game in the UK during 2010, while World of Warcraft: Cataclysm sold 4.7 million copies worldwide in its first month.
These figures mean Cowen and Company have altered their predictions, increasing them up to $4.77 billion. And Cowen’s Doug Creutz doesn’t think it’ll stop there:
“We believe that despite some challenges, Activision can grow earnings in FY11, based on continued growth from the Call of Duty franchise and likely new output from Blizzard.”
He also added that ‘modest’ income from True Crime: Hong Kong will help contribute a little to Activisions’ profits.
Cowen’s predictions for the next year assume Diablo III and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm will be released during the 2011 financial year. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty was another big seller for Activision during 2010, shifting 3 million copies during its first month on sale.
Activision reveals its results for Q4 1010 on February 9th.
So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the predictions on the estimated revenue of Activision? Well deserved for publishing a number of great games over the year? Or do you think they’re become too big and too successful?
Or do you just think the whole estimate by Cowen and Company is completely obvious anyway?
As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
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