It’s Infinity Ward’s turn to develop the next Call of Duty game which is expected this fall.
Activision Blizzard reported its fourth quarter and year-end earnings for 2018, and while the company did well, earnings were below company expectations.
It was announced on the call to investors this evening Infinity Ward is currently developing this year’s Call of Duty which is rooted in the franchise’s history.
Development in the franchise alternates between Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer, and Treyarch, so the news shouldn’t come as a surprise. The last title in the series developed by the studio was Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, followed by Slegdehammer with WW2, and Treyarch with Black Ops 4.
While the company said it has high expectations for this year’s Call of Duty, it warned sales may be lower than those of Black Ops 4.
Activision reported 53 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs) in the quarter, growing double-digits quarter-over quarter. The firm singled out Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 as a primary driver for the year. In its launch quarter, Black Ops 4 sold through more units than Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 during its quarter, with PC units more than tripling.
Full-game downloads were over 40% of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 console sell-through, versus approximately 30% for the prior release, Call of Duty: WW2. However, second half sales were below outlook, due to promotional activities, and less than expected sales of digital content (net bookings).
Spyro Reignited Trilogy was also cited as a fourth quarter driver, along with the ongoing contribution of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which has sold-in over 10 million units since its 2017 release.
Blizzard had 35 million MAUs in the quarter, as Overwatch and Hearthstone saw sequential stability. World of Warcraft saw expected declines post-expansion-launch. Fourth quarter segment revenues grew 15% year-over-year to $686 million and operating income increased 51% year-over-year to $241 million.
Activision said net bookings (digital sales of DLC, etc) were soft and on the decline for WoW, which is to be expected after an expansion’s release.
Company CEO Bobby Kotick announced restructuring plans on a call to investors this evening. Lay-offs will occur in the back office end, advertising, and other positions in the US. This is due to the smaller than normal slate of titles in the works for 2019. The layoffs will not affect developers, but those who work on the administrative side.
In 2019, the company will increase development investment in its biggest franchises, which Activision said will “accelerate the pace and quality of content” and support a number of new product initiatives.
The number of developers working on Call of Duty, CandyCrush, Overwatch, Warcraft, Hearthstone and Diablo in aggregate will increase approximately 20% over the course of 2019.
The company will fund this greater investment by de-prioritizing initiatives that are not meeting expectations and by reducing the number of employees in the aforementioned non-development positions.
Activision Blizzard’s call to investors is currently live, so we’ll update this post with more information as it comes.
The money end
For the quarter, Activision newt revenues came in at $2.38 billion, up slighting from $2.04 billion year-over-year (yoy). Net revenues from digital channels were $1.79 billion, up from $1.43 billion yoy. Fourth quarter segment revenues grew 6% year-over-year to $1.41 billion and operating income increased 14% year-over-year to $723 million.
Net bookings brought in $2.84 billion, up from $2.64 billion yoy, which was below the company’s prior outlook. Net bookings from digital channels were a record $1.88 billion, as compared with $1.62 billion for the fourth quarter of 2017. In-game net bookings were $1.2 billion.
For the year ended December 31, 2018, Activision Blizzard reported net revenues of $7.5 billion, up from $7.02 billion for 2017. Revenues from digital channels were $5.79 billion compared to $5.48 billion yoy. Net bookings were $7.26 billion, as compared with $7.16 billion for 2017 – which was below expectations.
Net bookings from digital channels were $5.72 billion, as compared with $5.43 billion for 2017. In-game net bookings came in at $4.2 billion.
- Activision-Blizzard Q1 2018
- Activision-Blizzard Q2 2018
- Activision-Blizzard Q3 2018
- Activision-Blizzard Q4/Year-End 2017
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Source : vg247.com
