Speaking at an investor call, Activision Blizzard says that it expects to release Diablo 3 in the second quarter of this year, and plans to put out yet another Call of Duty title.
The latter announcement should come as no big surprise given the series’ longstanding annual release schedule, but the news that gamers can expect to play Diablo 3 as early as April should is a pleasant surprise.
The publishing giant reports that it earned $4.76 billion over the course of the year, compared to $4.45b in the previous year. It earned $1.41b in revenues in the last quarter, which ended in December.
According to Activision, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was its top best-selling game in 2011, with Call of Duty: Black Ops ranking at number five in the same year. Modern Warfare 3 reportedly earned the company $775 million in retail sales in its first five days and broke the $1B barrier in 16 days, making it the highest grossing entertainment product in history. By comparison, Avatar broke the $1B barrier in ticket sales on its 17th day.
The company says that over 1.5 million gamers subscribe to its Call of Duty Elite service.
In related news, Blizzard Entertainment’s Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm remained on the top 10 PC game charts throughout the whole year.
“As we continue to strengthen our leadership position in interactive entertainment, our proven management team and talented employees delivered another extraordinary year of outperformance,” said CEO Bobby Kotick. “With better than expected net revenues, record earnings, record operating margins, and having generated nearly $1 billion in operating cash flow, Activision Blizzard continues to set the industry success bar.
“Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft maintained its leadership position as the number one subscription-based MMORPG around the world and Activision Publishing’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the number one selling game. Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure was the biggest new IP launch in Activision’s history and it is on track to become an important and sustainable franchise.”
In addition to Diablo 3 and a new Call of Duty title, Activision Blizzard has announced (though not by name) its plans to release the Heart of the Swarm expansion pack for Starcraft 2.