We’ve been big fans of Activision Blizzard for a while. No, they don’t push out a ton of games each year, but the games they release are generally from fantastic franchises and really top quality. Unfortunately, those franchises are declining, and Activision’s stock prices are going with it.
First Adopter is reporting a 17% share price drop in the past month for Activision. The report sites a dismal launch for Destiny, as well as issues with some of Activision’s other franchises as the reason for the stock tumble. While the stock is definitely on the decline, is this a new trend or something that will turn around again?
As cited in the article, Destiny wasn’t as massive a launch as expected, and even Call of Duty is declining. Add to that the diminishing population of World of Warcraft and increasing competition for Skylanders in the form of Disney Infinity and it might seem like the company is in trouble. However, I wouldn’t start jumping ship just yet.
Destiny certainly had a less than stellar launch, but so did Diablo III and look at it now. Acti-Bliz knows how to turn things around; it might be too late for some fans, but plenty will return if they hear that things are improved. Call of Duty certainly isn’t the juggernaut that it once was, but it is still a powerhouse that will be bought by die hard fans each year. Add to that a whole bunch of new features and award winning acting talent and the new iteration in the franchise might signal an improvement in the series.
Skylanders will face some tough competition against Disney Infinity, although the iPad version of the game is fantastic and will definitely convince some parents that it’s the better game for their offspring. Meanwhile, World of Warcraft’s latest expansion might bring fans of the MMO back to the fold. Plus, Heroes of the Storm is set to release relatively soon and could make a bunch of the MOBA fans change their game of choice.
Investors may be worried about the state of the company at the moment, especially after Destiny showed so much promise and then failed to deliver. However, there are more tricks up Activision’s sleeve and I wouldn’t write them off just yet. I’m not sure that the stock price is a true indication of how the company is doing.
Do you think Activision is in a downward spiral, or will we all be laughing at the mere idea once their next major game launches?
Last Updated: October 9, 2014
Admiral Chief 0
October 9, 2014 at 11:43
[insert airplane crashing noise]
JK
RinceThis
October 9, 2014 at 15:24
Lol
Tarisma
October 9, 2014 at 11:57
Meh they will be fine
Hammersteyn
October 9, 2014 at 12:00
Unless COD : AW tanks. But it can’t be worse than Ghost so yeah they will be fine.
Sir Rants A Lot Llew
October 9, 2014 at 11:58
Still higher than it was in Feb
Hammersteyn
October 9, 2014 at 11:59
How I perceive Destiny, hopefully it’s true (the missing slice is what we have now)
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130323200222/chefville/images/e/e7/Recipe-Black_Forest_Cake.png
Captain JJ Underleyened
October 9, 2014 at 12:00
Apart from Starcraft II being DRM’d to the max (which is my reason for not getting the expansions), I don’t have many issues with Blizzard.
Hammersteyn
October 9, 2014 at 12:01
Did you play Diablo 3 on console then?
Captain JJ Underleyened
October 9, 2014 at 12:02
Nope. Looked around for it second-hand, but no luck yet, since I really want to try it. Being a pc gamer it’s hard for me to justify spending over R500 for a game.
ReaperOfSquirrels
October 9, 2014 at 12:05
Saw it in BT Games Nicolway 2 weeks ago… not sure if they still have it though.
Captain JJ Underleyened
October 9, 2014 at 12:08
That’s a bit out of the way for me ;P
But I really do want to try it, the co-op especially intrigues me since my gf loves hacking and slashing with me (in games).
Lardus-Resident Perve
October 9, 2014 at 13:28
Same reason I didn’t get the Expansion. Did fall into the D3 trap, but skipped that expansion. What they need is a PROPER WarCraft 4 games which isn’t DRM’s to the max, and has PROPER offline LAN capabilities. Most of my friends would buy StarCraft 2 if we could LAN without an active internet connection. Man I miss StarCraft and WarCraft 🙁
Captain JJ Underleyened
October 9, 2014 at 13:35
I would so love a new Warcraft game.
It’s actually really sad to see what happened to those two great games.
ReaperOfSquirrels
October 9, 2014 at 12:00
They’ll come back when WoD releases… maybe
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
October 9, 2014 at 12:08
I’d say it’s not Destiny that got investors worried but rather Blizzard’s cancellation of Titan. That’s must have been an even greater shock to their collective wallets.
In any case, their stock price is still higher than 2010 (when it hovered around 10 dollahs). So they should be fine. I hope this does cause Activision to release that they need to take their products seriously. Keep the copy and paste to a minimum.
Thinkstrong
October 9, 2014 at 23:53
I really don’t see why a cancellation of game that would have been years away from release would have much of an impact on stock price. Nobody knew anything about it. They cancelled it because they didn’t like the concept. To me this is good news.
Look at what else Blizzard has on its plate: hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, world of warcraft expansions. i want to see them take advantage of warcraft and starcraft brands, not branch out.
Double-O-Six and a half
October 9, 2014 at 12:09
NOOOOO!!! Say it ain’t so… Just give me the final Starcraft 2 expansion and then by all means (if you REALLY have to…) crash and burn… I don’t think I’d cope without knowing how the Protoss return to save the galaxy…
Sageville
October 9, 2014 at 12:20
What exactly was wrong with the Destiny Launch?
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
October 9, 2014 at 12:23
Absolutely nothing – But the real issue is Blizzard’s cancellation of Titan.
FoxOneZA
October 9, 2014 at 12:27
It didn’t score an average of 8/10 on Metacritic and investors see that as bad.
Hammersteyn
October 9, 2014 at 12:35
If it scored 9/10 on Metacritic Bungie would have received $2 500 000 bonus.
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 9, 2014 at 12:24
The MOBA will save them. All those premium precious cosmetics. Right?
Jedi Consular Kromas
October 9, 2014 at 14:10
Hey if it works for Valve. Every dev has an armband with WWGND on it. 😛
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 9, 2014 at 14:15
A WWGND water-wing would be more accurate 😉
Jedi Consular Kromas
October 9, 2014 at 14:20
Careful! GabeN has better spying tech than the NSA. 😛
Captain JJ Underleyened
October 9, 2014 at 14:23
But GabeN knows his minions will never go against him.
FoxOneZA
October 9, 2014 at 12:26
Activision-DLC-Blizzard has turned into the world’s greatest marketing company and gamers are getting tired of DEEE LLLL CCCC!
Captain JJ Underleyened
October 9, 2014 at 12:34
I don’t mind DLC if it’s an “expansion” like in the old days. But this kak that you can buy DLC or a Season Pass on day one of release is a big old pot of sh!te.
Spaffy
October 9, 2014 at 12:46
Like previously mentioned, they take the complete game, take some bits out and then charge you extra to put it back
FoxOneZA
October 9, 2014 at 13:06
So a $60 game can become $120 within a day of release.
Captain JJ Underleyened
October 9, 2014 at 13:18
I’m so f*(^! tired of this.
Sir Rants A Lot Llew
October 9, 2014 at 13:34
Pretty much
Jedi Consular Kromas
October 9, 2014 at 14:12
Blizzard only releases expansion packs. They don;t really have much in terms of DLC. Their Activision half … yeah I agree.
Still better than EA who in turn is still better than Ubisoft.
Ross Woofels Mason
October 9, 2014 at 12:45
Things are rough all over for everyone at the moment. WoD will bring life back into WoW, and well hopefully they realise call of duty has been milked to hell and gone and release a “new” call of duty under and entirely different I.P
In all honesty though I dont see this being the end of them.
Mark_D
October 9, 2014 at 13:11
WoW has been milked to hell and gone. Even with the updates, it looks dated. It’s business model is no longer the standard, so i reckon that while an expansion might give is a momentary bump upwards, the overall trend is still going to be downnnn…
oVg Definitive and Remastered
October 9, 2014 at 12:56
Same cut and paste graph after the Battlefield 4 launch.
Mark_D
October 9, 2014 at 13:07
I used to be the biggest Blizzard fan around, but Diablo 3 really signalled the end of my support for them (now Activision Blizzard). There were so many things wrong with that launch and to me the game was uninspired – after all that time too. I did one play through and I’ve never been back – I dont care how much it’s been ‘improved’ over time. They’ve done alot of damage to their own reputations by over-promising and under-delivering and I’m just not buying any of it anymore.
Johan du Preez
October 9, 2014 at 13:25
Blizzard wil always have a special place in my heart but whats left of it after Activision gobbled them up can hardly be described as Blizzard anymore.
It pains me to say but I hope you burn to the ground. You stopped being blizzard when blizzard north closed and all your real talent left.
You are a empty shell of your former self.
Jedi Consular Kromas
October 9, 2014 at 14:08
Started up my wow account last week because of the imminent Expansion. Also looking forward to HotS and SC2:Dark of the Void.
Don’t care about CoD:advanced crap thanks.
Captain JJ Underleyened
October 9, 2014 at 14:12
The DRM on Starcraft is a big turn-off for me.
Jedi Consular Kromas
October 9, 2014 at 14:18
What DRM?
If you are referring to the online part that only applies to multiplayer and you can happily play single player offline (minus achievement tracking). Not really that much of an issue for me however those who really wanted to lan the game would have had a major issue I suppose.
Let us not forget that they released the games’ multiplayer aspect for free to friends of players of the game and thus you can happily play multiplayer for free as long as you play with/against a friend who owns the game.
That is quite cool.
Too bad the nerfed the siege tanks to hell.
Captain JJ Underleyened
October 9, 2014 at 14:23
The last time I played my SCII I couldn’t do offline SP. Didn’t even know they changed it.
That’s actually quite nice to hear. Now I can reconsider getting Heart of the Swarm.
Jedi Consular Kromas
October 9, 2014 at 14:30
HotS was amazing. I am so ready for Dark of the Void.
Captain JJ Underleyened
October 9, 2014 at 14:33
Well, now this brightened up my day. 🙂 Now I have to get HotS
Brian Murphy
October 9, 2014 at 17:18
Hmm, this could be highly fortuitous. If their stock continues to fall into November, maybe they bring more merch and goodies to give people at Blizzcon, to try and win people back. I might need to bring another suitcase just for merch.
Googamp32
October 10, 2014 at 00:10
When Activision Blizzard has trouble, the gaming community heals. Also, you honestly think that the iPad version of Skylanders is fantastic? Everyone knows that all app games are horrible and will never be even a tenth as good as PC and console games!
MrChinwag
October 11, 2014 at 15:35
.. what i wanna know is how much readers and followers has LG lost since this new site and its issues..