According to the Q3 2012 financial results released by Activision Blizzard, “the company delivered record GAAP net revenues of $841million…” compared to the $741 million which Blizzard earned for the same quarter in 2011. The news is “better than expected” and it looks like they’re positively farming gold.
This is the third consecutive year where Activision Blizzard has “produced over $1 billion of operating cash flow for the trailing 12-month period ending September”, in accordance to the third quarter conference call.
The reigning champ of MMORPGs, with an all-time high of a whopping 12 million players, World of Warcraft’s latest expansion Mists of Pandaria, played a major role in contributing towards Blizzard’s current success.
While games like Star Wars: The Old Republic have siphoned off many a WoW, with subscriptions dropping to 9.1 million in August 2012, according to VentureBeat, one million players were concurrently playing in the East, mainly China. The company now has some 10 million players currently questing in Azeroth for level 90 loot.
Blizzard was also boosted by its other big release of the year, Diablo III. On release Diablo III was the #1 bestselling game for the PC in the U.S and Europe, both in units sold and money earned. This was followed up by Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, which in the U.S and Europe was the best-selling console/handheld game for the first nine-months of 2012 and also the best-selling action figure line.
CEO Rick Kotick said, “As we look to 2013, we are cautious about business prospects given a continuously challenged global economy, the ongoing console transition and very difficult year-over-year comparables due to Blizzard’s record shattering sales in 2012. We expect that over the long-term, we will maintain our leadership position as the world’s leading interactive entertainment company and continue to provide strong returns to our shareholders by delivering great games to audiences around the world.”