Advertisement

Activision's (ATVI) Call of Duty: Mobile is a Hit in China

Activision Blizzard’s ATVI Call of Duty: Mobile that has been developed in collaboration with Tencent’s TCEHY Timi Studios generated more than $14 million in player spending in the first week of its release, per a report by Sensor Tower.

Markedly, Call of Duty: Mobile has become the fourth highest revenue generating game in China, trailing Tencent’s Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile as well as Fantasy Westward Journey from NetEase NTES.

Call of Duty (“COD”) has been one of the most successful franchises by Activision. The popularity of the franchise has been benefiting in-games spending, thereby driving Activision’s net bookings and top-line growth.

In Dec 2020, Activision revealed that the Call of Duty franchise’s net bookings have surpassed $3 billion over the past year. Additionally, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has sold more units than Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Activision stated that it will make frequent content updates to Call of Duty and expand the franchise’s presence across platforms and geographies.

Call of Duty: Mobile continues to play an important part in driving user base. Since its launch in October 2019, the title has been the highest grossing new game in app stores in the United States and has generated over $480 million in player spending during its first year. Per Sensor Tower data, lifetime revenues for Call of Duty: Mobile has reached nearly $644 million as of Dec 31, 2020.

Strong Franchise Performance Fuels Growth

Activision is riding on robust performance of its franchises including COD, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone and Candy Crush Saga. Shares are up 51.1% in the past year, outperforming the Zacks Toys-Games-Hobbies industry’s rally of 33.3%.

Activision Blizzard, Inc Price and Consensus

Activision Blizzard, Inc Price and Consensus
Activision Blizzard, Inc Price and Consensus

Activision Blizzard, Inc price-consensus-chart | Activision Blizzard, Inc Quote

 

Markedly, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft: Shadowlands became the fastest-selling PC game, reflecting content strength.

The success of the company’s World of Warcraft and COD franchise bodes well for its solid gaming portfolio and is expected to aid the expansion of its player base. Markedly, in third-quarter 2020, Activision Blizzard’s in-game net bookings were up 76.6% year over year to $1.2 billion. Further, for 2020, the company expects net bookings to be $8.1 billion.

Activision is stepping up investments in other popular franchises as well. The company expects to deploy more resources in its franchises including Overwatch, King’s Candy Crush, Diablo and Hearthstone. This is expected to help Activision improve competitive prowess against the likes of Take Two Interactive Software, Nintendo and Electronic Arts EA.

Further, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s strong portfolio of games is expected to boost its monthly active user base in the near term. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!

It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.

Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2021.

Click here for the 6 trades >>


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Activision Blizzard, Inc (ATVI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Tencent Holding Ltd. (TCEHY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
NetEase, Inc. (NTES) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research