Strong demand for digital material, such ad downloads for Call of Duty games, helped push video game publisher Activision Blizzard’s second-quarter net income up 53pc.
The company earned US$335m, or 29 cents per share, in the latest quarter. Last year during the same time, the figures were US$219m, or 17 cents per share, which makes for a 53pc increase this year.
Activision Blizzard’s revenue rose to US$1.15bn, which is a 19pc increase from US $967m.
“Our better-than-expected second-quarter performance was driven by record digital sales of our online-enabled franchises,” said Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.
“For the six-month period, net revenues from digital channels grew more than 20pc, driving record operating margin and EPS growth of more than 50pc.
“Looking to the balance of the year, while we have numerous releases, we believe our audiences will be especially excited by three key properties – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, our new online service Call of Duty Elite and Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure – all of which are shaping up to be incredible.
“To date, pre-orders for Modern Warfare 3 have significantly exceeded the pre-orders for Black Ops at this time last year. In addition, we believe that Call of Duty Elite, which was built for Modern Warfare 3 and is expected to launch with the game on November 8, should redefine social connectivity for multiplayer gaming. Additionally, we expect that Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure will change the way we look at toys and video games by bringing the world of toys, video games and the internet together in an unprecedented way.”
The Santa Monica, California-based company said more than 60pc of sales were generated digitally.
