Back to top

Image: Shutterstock

Activision Blizzard (ATVI) to Launch WoW Dragonflight on Nov 28

Read MoreHide Full Article

Activision Blizzard is expanding the World of Warcraft (WoW) franchise with the recently announced release of Dragonflight on Nov 28 globally.

Players will get to discover the Dragon Isles and explore four new zones, each revealing more about the ancient dragon aspects. There are also millions of combinations of appearances available for Drakes, allowing players to make their own companions as they learn to fly farther, longer and faster throughout their journey.

Players will also get an updated Heads-Up Display (HUD) and User Interface (UI) system and they may customize both the look and feel of their WoW experience through the game itself in more ways than ever before.

The game carefully balances both the nostalgia for veteran players and the modernization needed for first-time players which makes it capable of enhancing the user base for Activision Blizzard.

Activision Blizzard’s Strong Game Pipeline to Boost User Base

Activision Blizzard recently released World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, which players with a WoW subscription can avail of at zero cost.

Blizzard’s Diablo series is also launching its fourth installment in 2023. The title will support cross-play and cross-progression across platforms and will also engage live service and provide ongoing storytelling.

Besides this, players are awaiting the line-up for Call of Duty. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, which is a sequel to Modern Warfare 2019 and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, which brings in new features like extraction mode, gulag changes and new swimming/aquatic combat, is set to release on Oct 28 and Nov 16, respectively.

Activision is also set to launch Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile in 2023, which is a free-to-play battle royale mobile game with up to 120 players, allowing them to share social features like friends and chat channels.

King, which is driven by Candy Crush, has been a very strong segment for Activision Blizzard. Its in-game net bookings and advertising business increased 6% and 20% respectively year over year in second-quarter 2022.

Activision’s strong portfolio makes it an attractive investment. The company is set to be acquired by Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) for $95 per share in an all-cash transaction.

However, the acquisition is facing an in-depth probe in the United Kingdom as the Competition and Markets Authority believes that this acquisition could hurt competition in gaming consoles, subscription services and cloud gaming if Microsoft refuses to give competitors access to Activision's best-selling games.

Despite the strong game line-up, Activision Blizzard’s top line has not been performing well. The revenues and net bookings for second-quarter 2022 fell 28% and 9%, respectively.


Activision is also facing stiff competition from Electronic Arts (EA - Free Report) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO - Free Report) .

The upcoming Madden NFL 23 and the most expansive FIFA game are going to strengthen EA’s portfolio. The company expects net bookings for second-quarter fiscal 2023 to be in the range of $1.725-$1.775 billion.

Take-Two Interactive’s top line gains strong revenues from GTA and Red Dead Redemption, and also from the acquisition of Zynga. The company expects fiscal 2023 revenues to jump 73.3% year over year.
 

Published in