Activision Blizzard's New "Call of Duty" Reaches $ 500 Million Dollar – The Motley Fool

It was a good year for Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), with good performance and stocks outperforming the overall market. But the rise in popularity of "royal battle" games, such as Epic Games " Fortnite and Bluehole The battlefields of PlayerUnknown, generated significant new competition for large gaming companies.

With the release of October 12 Call of Duty: Black Ops 4Activision finally had the opportunity to show everyone that it was still the king of shoot-em-up titles. And that's exactly what the new version did, which exceeded $ 500 million in sales in the first three days after launch. Activision said that Black Ops 4 "Set a new launch day record as the largest digital version of Day One in Activision's history." It sets digital sales records for all platforms – Sonythe Playstation, MicrosoftXbox One and PC.

The company has also released key engagement figures for the game. I will review them below and their significance for the future.

Call of Duty is a big deal

The annual publication of a new Call of Duty The game is a big problem for Activision. The franchise remains one of the company's four largest titles, accounting for two-thirds of annual sales, and has generated more than $ 10 billion in its lifetime.

There have been several Call of Duty payments made in recent years reaching $ 1 billion in the early days of the launch. The 2013 version of Call of Duty: ghosts and the release in 2012 of Call of Duty Black Ops 2 The last two publications reached $ 1 billion in sales shortly after launch.

That does not mean that Black Ops 4The $ 500 million mark is low. With the new version focused on multiplayer content – and that's what more and more players want – this version of the series could be the most important to date.

In the coming months, Activision will further monetize this game with additional content purchased by players. And given the high number of commitments provided by the company, Black Ops 4 could be the most lucrative Call of Duty title in the story.

Doubling the call of esports

Activision said the "total number of players has climbed" compared to last year 's installment in the best – selling series. In addition, the company stated that "during the first three days of his release, Black Ops 4 define a new Call of Duty franchise record for most players combined, average number of hours per player and total number of hours of play, on the consoles of the current generation. "

Earlier in the week, Activision also said that "on the first day of availability, the total number of people who logged in online to play Black Ops 4 increased compared to the publication of last year ".

What motivates this commitment is the company's decision to double its game on multiplayer game modes and remove the single player story campaign that Call of Duty the games have been known for. As the first producer of Black Ops 4 said earlier this year to Polygon, the players are claiming it, with about 90% of Call of Duty Inviting player base with multiplayer features.

The increased interest in multiplayer content is linked to the esports frenzy currently sweeping the industry. Activision ramps up Call of Duty Sports event of the World League during the last year. Going into the multiplayer game modes with Black Ops 4Activision is preparing the franchise to potentially become a major sport in the future. And based on a high audience with the most popular game streaming site, it would seem that Activision already has a large audience in place for professionals. Call of Duty league esports.

No Fortnite killer, which is not a bad thing

During the opening weekend, Black Ops 4 was one of the most watched games on Twitch. Black Ops 4 attracted around 200,000 viewers a day, placing it side-by-side with the industry's most popular game, Fortnite.

Analysts have worried all year round whether the growing popularity of royal battle games like Fortnite took players from the player bases of the major video game companies. With both Black Ops 4 and Fortnite attracting a large number of viewers on Twitch, this validates a little what industry leaders say from the beginning: that games like Fortnite have helped to develop interest in games in general.

Fortnite has generated more than $ 1 billion just through spending in the game. Black Ops 4 is already halfway just with game sales. At the moment Activision starts broadcasting additional content to download in the game, Black Ops 4 could easily exceed $ 1 billion in total sales over the next year.

Overall, the performance of the new title is impressive as it compares to a very difficult year-over-year comparison with last year's strong sales. Call of Duty: World War II. The slice of last year set the record for the biggest digital launch on Playstation on the day of opening – Black Ops 4 just broke that record.

Activision now has two popular shooters in Overwatch and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 it can take advantage of the booming esport market.

And, yes, big game companies can still produce hits.

Teresa Kersten is a LinkedIn employee and is a board member of The Motley Fool. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. John Ballard holds shares in Activision Blizzard. Motley Fool owns shares and recommends Activision Blizzard. Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.