Game publishers seems to be in the business of losing money. THQ is close to being worthless, Ubisoft posted a multi million dollar loss, as has Square-Enix. You know who is making a ton of money though? Yup, Activision.
The mega-publisher, Activision-Blizzard has had "better-than-expected financial results," reporting a net revenue of $841 million for the quarter ending September 30, 2012 – up from the $754 million earnings it posted for the same period last year – giving the company profits that are $100 million higher than it predicted they would be.
Here’s something you might find a little surprising; more than half of its earnings came through digital channels; likely digital distribution of Diablo III, Mists of Pandaria and all that DLC; Net revenues via digital channels came to $427 million.
Activision’s announced that it is currently completely debt free, and is sitting with a cool $3.4 billion in cash and investments. It’s been a good year for Activision – and the company only expects it to get better; Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 hasn’t even been released yet.
"Our unyielding commitment to excellence, the strength of our employees around the globe and our focus on creating great entertainment experiences have enabled us to once again deliver better-than-expected financial results," said
DarthBobby Kotick."Our performance was driven by the launch of World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria and continued sales of its top-selling PC game, Diablo III, as well as Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure, and sales of titles in the Call of Duty franchise," he added
Love or hate Activision, you have to respect the fact that they know how to do business. I do, however, fear that unless the company does something new and stops relying on just 3 or 4 core IP’s, it may soon see darker days.
Last Updated: November 8, 2012
