Treyarch steps back up to the firing line with the most gratuitously violent COD yet, but is that enough to hit its target?
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Publisher wants to cash-in on players' time spent with the series.
Analysts claim Modern Warfare 3 is lagging behind Black Ops, but does raw sales data tell the whole story?
6Activision's Call Of Duty series occupies the top three slots in Microsoft's chart of last year's most played games on Xbox Live. Black Ops was the most played game of the year, ahead of Modern Warfare 3, which is in second spot despite only launching on November 8. Modern Warfare 2, released in 2009, is in third. More >
Activision has released a positive set of financial results for the three months to September 30, beating internal forecasts with sales and profits up thanks to a rise in digital revenue. More >
Activision has reported a significant increase in digital revenues for the 12 months ended June 2012, driven in part by the increasingly popular Call Of Duty franchise. Speaking during a conference call with analysts today, which was listened in on by Gamasutra, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirschberg said the firm’s online revenues reached $1.7 billion during the period. The figure represents a 22 per cent year-over-year increase from $1.4 billion, and a 41 per cent rise from the $1.2 billion generated during the year ended June 2009. Hirschberg said the publisher has sold 18 million $15 Black Ops map packs to a still growing base of 23 million Black Ops owners. In comparison, Activision shifted 11 million $15 map packs to Modern Warfare 2’s 19 million owners, and nine million $10 map packs to World at War’s nine million owners.
Strong digital performance drives 53 per cent rise in profits and $1.1 billion in sales.
2Activision's latest Call Of Duty title, Black Ops, has become biggest selling game of all time, according to GfK ChartTrack. It's cumulative UK sales up until June 25 were 3,722,411 - Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the previous biggest seller, has reached 3,702,410. Activision’s UK managing director Andrew Brown said: “This is an outstanding achievement for the development team at Treyarch and the amazing Call of Duty community.”
Randy Smith peels back the layers which make a game whole.
Activision says two million potential testers signed up for July’s Call Of Duty: Elite beta “in less than two weeks”, but that it’s not too late to register your interest if you’d like a free trial of the subscription service ahead of its full launch alongside Modern Warfare 3 in November. “When the studio head at Beachhead said this would be a live beta, he was not kidding — your participation really can make a difference in how Elite evolves,” writes Activision social media boss Dan Amrich. “And don’t be discouraged by the big number, thinking you shouldn’t bother because they already have enough people — two million volunteers among 30 million Call Of Duty players is a small amount. More would be even better.”
Digital revenues up $100 million thanks largely to record-setting Black Ops map pack.
US market sees slight growth despite decline in software sales; Black Ops now best-selling game ever.
Sony's FPS beats Electronic Arts' Bulletstorm to top of chart, both knock Black Ops to third.
No surprises as shooter returns to the top of the Nordic all-formats chart.
No surprises as Activision shooter tops monthly sales in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden.
Marvel Vs Capcom 3 unable to block shooter's return to top slot.
Activision shooter still king in the States as retail spend drops 5 per cent year on year.
Treyarch shooter returns to the summit as Dead Space 2 and LittleBigPlanet 2 sales tail off.
Limbo becomes the first downloadable title to be shortlisted for BAFTAís public award.
500 jobs to go despite full-year figures showing record earnings and huge increase in profit.
No surprises as Activision shooter tops Major Nelsonís list of most played online games of the year.
Community manager Josh Olin says developers deterred from trying new things by "angry entitled fans."