The largest US video game publisher, Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) Blizzard Inc., announced revenue higher than analysts’ expectations. Still, adjusted sales fell 15 % due to a weak Call of Duty launch last fall and a poor year for the gaming industry as a whole.
Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI), which Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is in the process of purchasing, reported adjusted revenue of $1.64 billion in the second quarter vs. the average analyst expectation of $1.6 billion. Online purchase postponed sales are not included in adjusted income. According to information from Bloomberg, adjusted earnings per share came in at 47 cents, slightly below expert expectations and roughly 50% less than a year ago.
The corporation’s fiscal year has been impacted by Call of Duty Vanguard, which Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) claimed hasn’t fared as well as planned. The game was met with unfavorable reviews and fierce competition from fresh installments of the successful Halo and Battlefield series.
A new mobile installment in the action series, Diablo Immortal, was published during the second quarter by Activision’s Blizzard division. Diablo Immortal’s release in the most prominent mobile app market in the world was postponed by nearly a month by Activision’s Chinese partner NetEase Inc. (HKG:9999), who claimed that more time was required. On July 25, it was formally released. On Monday, Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) omitted to provide sales data for the newest Diablo game.
As a result of hardware supply chain concerns affecting consoles, inflation, and a lack of significant releases, the video game industry has had a slow year. As people resumed their outside interests and activities after the pandemic, stay-at-home restrictions were lifted, and interest in video games also decreased. According to a survey from the analytics company NPD Group, spending in the video gaming sector is anticipated to decline by 8.7% this year.
Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) expects revenue and earnings per share to remain lower year-over-year in the second half. The shares were up less than 1% in extended trading at $80.45. In extended trading, the percentages increased by less than 1% to $80.45.
On October 28, a new installment of the series called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will be published. But after that, according to Bloomberg, the series will not air in 2023. Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) will instead make Modern Warfare and other Call of Duty-related material available as add-ons. The Treyarch team intends to release the next mainline game in the series in 2024. The leading video game franchise published by Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI), Call of Duty, consistently ranks at the top of annual sales statistics. Since the 2003 debut of the series, more than 400 million units have been sold.
The Blizzard games Overwatch 2 and Dragonflight, a new expansion for the online game World of Warcraft, will also be made available early access on October 4 and later in the year, respectively, according to Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI). According to the business, Diablo IV will be released next year.
In part due to the purchases of the Boston-based game business Proletariat, which will help with World of Warcraft expansions, and the Sweden-based AI startup Peltarion, the Santa Monica, California-based publisher expanded developer staff by 25% from a year earlier. But it added that it remains aware of risks, including those related to the labor market and economic conditions.
In January, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) made its acquisition of Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) public. The Xbox manufacturer entered at a time when Activision’s shares were down because of a continuing sexual misconduct issue from the previous year. Although Activision’s stock has increased by nearly 20% since the January announcement, it is still trading for far less than the offer price of $95 per share, which suggests market skepticism that the transaction would go through. The Federal Trade Commission’s recently appointed chief, Lina Khan, has said she intends to take a firm stance against technological mergers. Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) has stated that it anticipates the deal to be finalized during Microsoft’s fiscal year, which ends in June 2023.
Featured Image: Megapixl @Selagin
