Activision-Blizzard April-June revs hit $1B, WOW near 11M

Guitar Hero On Tour publisher April-June earnings top $654 million as profits double; former Vivendi properties take in around $347 million; World of Warcraft now boasts 10.9 million subscribers.

Though it received criticism on Monday for passing on some high-profile Vivendi projects, Activision Blizzard is having a banner week. Today, the newly merged company announced its first joint finances, which underlined its status as the new top third-party publisher.

For the quarter ending June 30, Activision took in $654.2 million in stand-alone net revenue, a 32 percent jump from the $495.5 million it earned last year. The former properties of Vivendi Games, which include World of Warcraft powerhouse Blizzard Entertainment, generated €223 million, or $347.8 million, during the same period, bringing total Activision Blizzard earnings to approximately $1 billion. Though currency fluctuations prevent a precise number, the lump sum is much more than the $804 million in quarterly Electronic Arts reported on Tuesday.

Regarding profits, Activision enjoyed solo net income of $59.0 million, more than twice the $27.8 million it took in the year prior. The company reported that, excluding merger and stock-compensation-related costs, profits would have almost tripled to $74.3 million. For its part, Ex-Vivendi Games properties reported 42 million ($65.5 million) in earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA).

With such massive numbers, Activision Blizzard executives weren't shy about touting their roster of hits. "Activision's June quarter stand-alone results were the highest ever for a nonholiday quarter, driven by...Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: On Tour, Kung Fu Panda and continued sales of our catalog titles," said Robert Kotick, CEO of the newly merged company, in a statement. According to the NPD Group, Guitar Hero: On Tour was the top title on the DS title for the quarter in the US, with a sequel announced at E3 2008 earlier this month.

Mike Morhaime, still-CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment, also touted his $100-million-a-month shop's wares. "Since June 2007, World of Warcraft has grown its subscriber base by over 1.8 million, to 10.9 million players," he said, mentioning WOW's recent Latin American and upcoming Russian launches. The ubiquitous massively multiplayer game's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, remains scheduled for release later this year. The first expansion, The Burning Crusade, launched in January 2007.

In a conference call with analysts after the report, Kotick said the combined company has a whopping $3 billion on hand, putting it in a prime position for "acquisitions." He also said that, according the NPD Group, Guitar Hero "is the biggest game franchise this year--even bigger than Grand Theft Auto--in terms of dollars."

57 Comments

  • ratavaquera

    Posted Oct 28, 2008 3:05 pm PT

    i still love Blizzard, WoW its the best and most played MMORPG

    Congratulations Blizzard from Mexico!

    (i stopped playing WoW 4 months ago , but WoW its so fun and addictive!)

  • valcrist09

    Posted Aug 6, 2008 11:06 am PT

    lol almost 11 million good lord... Im sure WOTWK will raise that even more.. I agree with VirginFingers AOC was the joke of the year, i got bored of it in less then a month... yeah it was bloody, but the gameplay was terrible and lacked major content.

  • VirginFingers

    Posted Aug 6, 2008 10:44 am PT

    Hah.... Age of Conan.... that was the jokeof the year.

  • Old_Gooseberry

    Posted Aug 5, 2008 2:16 pm PT

    not sure how wow is holding onto its people still, the game is a brutal chore. its depressing how much work it takes to get ahead

  • Iraqi_Gangster

    Posted Aug 5, 2008 12:19 pm PT

    I don't what is the fuss about WoW! I tried it over my friends house and it sucked like hell.
    I'd rather play a mature bloody game like Age of Conan over a cartoony game like World of Warcraft

  • jogunther

    Posted Aug 4, 2008 6:13 pm PT

    I play other MMo's than WoW not very immpressive, repetitive nonsens. Not saying it doesn't have a addictive gameplay.That said I've seen ppl wast a lot of money on WoW. No amount of cash beyond a billion would supris me.

  • rayjohansson

    Posted Aug 3, 2008 7:54 pm PT

    Why are people getting so upset and acting as if WOW is their mother or something? WOW's graphics are not amazing nor high end by any 2008 standard. However, some people may find their artistic style to be appealing. That argument makes more sense. I, personally, do not like the cartoon type imagery but can understand why someone would like it.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Aug 3, 2008 5:02 pm PT

    I don't like WoW

  • mYslead

    Posted Aug 3, 2008 8:14 am PT

    i'm sure someone will find a way to mod it to the darker colors ...

  • Valauliver

    Posted Aug 2, 2008 10:13 am PT

    oh and jimmyjimjim if you have that attitude with every game, then I'm surprised you are even on this website, you must find every video game boring xD I doubt you like crappy linear games like Halo then eh? Oh wait I bet you do... mikwaish69 people don't get bored because its addictive, but most of all they play to get the best gear in the game which isn't an easy thing to do, but then Blizzard brings out new content for them to explore and new bosses for them to try down. And because its an easy place to make friends worldwide (well it is if your on EU, US can't really make worldwide friends xD). For me the main reason I play WoW loads is cause I want to be the #1 player - won't happen but hey.

  • cyborg100000

    Posted Aug 2, 2008 10:10 am PT

    WoW's graphics are perfect, how can you say they're out dated when no other game (except Warhammer) has graphics like it? WoW's graphics excel artistically a lot more than most other games and no. Unlike all these "state of the art graphics engines" they won't go out of date as fast.

    Also @Badash, what's your point about WoW's subscribers mainly in Asia? That's the same with every other MMO, except there's at least 50 times more westerners playing WoW than any other MMO.

    "meanwhille so many freaks are addicted to wow, they don't play other pc games and the pc game industry crumbles."

    Bullsht. People play WoW mainly because it's a fun game, therefore successful. And a lot of people do play games other than WoW, it's just that people play WoW a lot longer than any other game.

    "A stupid cartoon game with no substance, a basic everquest rip-off that took out all the interesting fun things to add hum drum easiness and the lowest number of races/classes and variety of any mmo."

    lol tbh just lol. Explain to me then, why it's constantly come in PcGamers (who have some of the best reviews i've ever seen) top 5 best games ever played (from the 1980's until now). Why it's scored at least 9/10 on most reviews (and for an MMO!). I'll say why. It's a fun game. And what else do you look for in a game?

  • Valauliver

    Posted Aug 2, 2008 10:03 am PT

    world69star69, WoW has graphics from 2001 because that was when it was first in development you idiot. And if you think graphics make a game you clearly are a fool, every single Blizzard Entertainment game has been a massive success and not one of them has had good graphics for their time - says a lot don't you think? Maybe you have a high specced PC with Intel quad core, 5GB RAM, HD ATI Radeon graphics card - GUESS WHAT? Most people do not have this and Blizzard know that, so they make thier game suitable for a WIDE range of PC's - oh look 10.9 million subscribers, seems to me that's what every single game developer for PC should do, Crysis is a complete failure, oh it looks good but I bet not many people have bought it. Metroidsax, 1. Activision don't DEVELOP games, they PUBLISH them for other DEVELOPMENT studios BIG DIFFERENCE. And Blizzard is not the one merging with Activision, it is Blizzard's publisher Vivendi Games - LEARN TO READ. Humourguy, you still get charged even if you cancel part way through month because people could then just cancel the subscription a day before the payment, then re-subscribe to refresh it, then monthly subscription people like Blizzard would never get any money - that doesn't require a lot of thinking to work out lol

  • xbox360progamer

    Posted Aug 2, 2008 9:54 am PT

    wow thats alot of money

  • world69star69

    Posted Aug 2, 2008 9:51 am PT

    All the stupid wow fanatics will mark your comment down if you talk crap on acti-blizzard. Fact is they are a greedy company, the new EA. While ea is doing the right thing now. Dropping two great titles when they have that much cash is ridiculous! Why don't they make something new. How many guitar hero games do you need? Rock Band is much better. Then there is blizzard with wow. The mmo has horrible 2001 quality graphics that can be run on my pentium 3 laptop, meanwhille so many freaks are addicted to wow, they don't play other pc games and the pc game industry crumbles. Between blizzard and microsoft they are both responsible for the state of the pc game market today. I wish ms never made xbox and people would stop going nuts over wow! A stupid cartoon game with no substance, a basic everquest rip-off that took out all the interesting fun things to add hum drum easiness and the lowest number of races/classes and variety of any mmo. All the damn dwarfs look the same and have ugly noses, the night elves are all purple and green and look gay What the hell, the gameplay is boring, its so slow to start. I just don't get it. If it wasn't for Diablo series or starcraft (or the warcraft series pre-warcraft3) i wouldn't have anything to do with them.

  • akazergling2

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 5:38 pm PT

    I disagree with GriffinLord602, if you don't enjoy WoW within the first couple minutes, you probably won't enjoy the really advanced side of the game either.

  • GriffinLord602

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 2:46 pm PT

    ... I never got into WoW thats for sure... I found the beginning to slow, and I know you gotta be patient with most MMO's to get into the good stuff, but I couldn't be bothered with it to be honest :L.

  • metroidsax

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 12:30 pm PT

    Activision and Blizzard, two of my favorite devs. I hope to see how things actually turn out.

  • BadAshJL

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 11:59 am PT

    Keep in mind that over half of WoW's subscribers are in asia and they pay significantly less to play the game than we do over here.

  • shadowking34

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 11:24 am PT

    i hope it going to be good to play

  • necronaux

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 9:55 am PT

    Where would they be without GH?

  • jrabbit99

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 8:56 am PT

    I wish I was one of the 11 Million. oh well.

  • Wolfather

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 7:55 am PT

    sand is a pleasant mineral.

  • blaskowicz

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 6:44 am PT

    Good thing Activision doesn't get to decide squat on Blizzzard's lineup. If Ghostbusters and Brutal Legend get to see the light of the day, I will be delighted to spend my money on both games and make some other publisher richer.

  • Cereo1

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 6:30 am PT

    @Humorguy_basic How are your suspicious? Everyones card is charged every month and they get X amount of money each month. You take that number and divide it by 14.95 and you get a rough estimate of how many people still let their account get charged. Are they all playing regularly? It doesn't really matter, its money in the bank. Gold farmers or not, they get $100mil a month in from subs, you can't really argue that.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Aug 1, 2008 3:10 am PT

    Still suspicious of subscriber numbers for online games like WoW. We just do not get enough information. Laws should be brought in to make them give details like games that sell through normal retail. I have heard, for example, that if you subscribe for one month to an online subscribed game then cancel, you are still counted for the rest of the financial quarter!

  • CureForLiving

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 10:54 pm PT

    Well lets hope they spread the love (and money) to their devs for given them all that success.

  • wainojake

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 10:39 pm PT

    why would they put out a graphics update they are fine the way they are and it lets everyone play not just people with million dollar machines meaning more money for blizz

  • Neo_Gamer81

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 10:22 pm PT

    mcblarsen- I am with you on that. I want the Ghostbusters game.

  • JediJon04

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 9:40 pm PT

    earlthecannibal - Really? NO updates since BC? Forgotten about Sunwell, have we? ZA? Badge gear? PvP gear? Man...you need to read up on it.

  • mcblarsen

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 9:36 pm PT

    That's nice.....now where's my Ghostbuster game?

  • Ghost_702

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 9:06 pm PT

    This is great news. This is my favorite company hands down. They produce quality games and are rewarded handsomely for it. VERY handsomely. The money made by WoW's subscriptions alone is very impressive. Now there are a lot of big name game titles under one roof, just awesome.

  • cooldude03

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 9:06 pm PT

    I don't mean to be a hater but Activision has taken over for EA as the most hated Publisher. They put tons of highly anticipating games into limbo. They're flexing they're muscles with Guitar Hero and WOW. Which are both good franchises but to put everything else on the back burner is wrong. EA is triing to put more new IP's into the market, while Activision is focusing on their two big franchises. I believe this is a misuse of their new found power.

  • brantothehizzam

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 8:10 pm PT

    I love WoW
    Prob the reason I have no gotten burnt out is because every time my gamecard expires i take a 4 month break

  • earlthecannibal

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 8:04 pm PT

    10.9 million and still no graphics update or new content since bc.......and the reason ? people are happy with it the way it is... stupid people! they just dont get it do they ..if everyone is happy Blizzard doesnt have to work anymore. Thats why im not playing until a graphics update and at least two new classes come along ...any game you can play with a 32mb vid card and is shipped on multiple cd's is just plain lame imo.

  • gozalo

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 7:32 pm PT

    10.9 million souls lost....

  • tawagivercetti

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 7:31 pm PT

    Kudos to Guitar hero- pure fun, only real losers quit at that game,
    just one thing Richers.. you've made so much dosh now how bout giving us some FREE track packs to download may I suggest TOOL or mudvayne and make all previous track packs on xbl free, c'mon you can afford it!! Also some name suggestions - Actird, Bli$$ion, ACTIBLIZZ, richierich

  • JimmyJimJim

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 6:59 pm PT

    I gotta agree I got bored of wow around a year and a half ago and don't plan on going back even when the new expansion comes out. Cause basically it's just the samething over and over it's quiet boring and takes up too much time to get things done. I'm happy for Activsion Blizzard though and I hope they take down EA!!.

  • DontEatCream

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 5:35 pm PT

    They're constantly updating the game, adding new features and stuff to keep the game fresh. And if that fails to rouse the crowd, they can just pump out another expansion pack to drive the masses into a frenzy. As amazing as WoW is, there are plenty of people who quit for various reasons. Hell, I had to drop the habit when I got to college (or else I'd flunk out), and I know a few friends who did the same thing. Thus, if Blizzard counted past WoW players in their subscription tally, they'd get a number than can easily exceed 11 million.

  • mikewalsh69

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 5:22 pm PT

    how do people not get bored after playing WoW for so long?? i'm not saying it's a bad game(it must be good if that many people can play it for so long) but how do you not say well i've had enough of this??

  • bannermanner

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 4:58 pm PT

    After reading about the games they had dropped, I am extremely glad I had nothing to do with Activision-Blizzard's success this year.

  • Stargate_SG-1_

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 4:49 pm PT

    Great Job ActiBLizz Congradulations Hope you use your profits well

  • Crush_Project

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 4:31 pm PT

    so great that a company can continue to screw us over and keep making record profits. Way to go morons! In a few years you'll have completely killed the pc market!

  • cchris1109

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 4:31 pm PT

    so why are people complaining about Actiblizzard not finishing/taking the Ghostbusters game, its being codirected by the Dan man himself, so wouldn't the story/gameplay be overall good quality? Sierra is making it...and they produce really interesting/fun games.

  • okassar

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 4:28 pm PT

    They should make a new WoW and make the max level 100,so they make another billion dollars in the next 5 years... -.-

  • alnors

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 4:24 pm PT

    wooooooooooow jast woooooooooooow

  • thorsen-ink GameSpot staff member

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 4:23 pm PT

    The other games aren't unnecessarily canceled, just ActiBlizz isnt publishing

  • Windblade91

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 4:03 pm PT

    gooo blizzard!!!!

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