Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the Biggest Entertainment Launch of the Year
November 20 2014 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Franchise Tops $10 Billion in Sales
Worldwide, Life-to-Date
Sales and Engagement Up Over Last Year
Through First Week
Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), today announced that
Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare is the biggest entertainment
launch of the year, besting not only all other video games, but
also the biggest movies, music and books launched in 2014.
“Since Activision created the Call of Duty franchise in 2003,
franchise revenues have exceeded $10 billion in sales worldwide,
far exceeding box office receipts for such household movie
franchises as Hunger Games, Transformers, Iron Man and Avengers,
combined,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “Advanced
Warfare is the biggest entertainment launch of 2014 in terms of
revenue, surpassing all movie, music and book launches this
year.”
“We poured our hearts into making Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
an epic ride, and we are pleased with the
performance,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing,
Inc. “Sales and engagement are up through the first week
compared to last year. Season Pass sales are up, as well. The game
has been very positively reviewed and the response from fans has
been tremendous. We believe Advanced Warfare will be
the most successful game of the year and we thank our fans for
making it the biggest entertainment launch of the year.”
Activision also confirmed that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is
the highest-selling digital launch in console history according to
Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and internal Activision
estimates.
Engagement for Sledgehammer Games’ newest entry to the franchise
is based on statistics from the first week after launch according
to internal estimates, with gamers playing more than 370 million
online matches in its first week of release, and leveling up over
200 million times in Advanced Warfare online multiplayer mode.
As a reminder, Xbox gamers who purchased a digital copy, can
upgrade their Xbox 360 version to Xbox One for free, as well as
PlayStation 3 players, who also purchased digitally, can upgrade to
PlayStation 4 for free. This offer for full-game free upgrade
within console family is limited to purchases of Xbox 360 and PS3
digital versions made by March 31, 2015, and does not apply to
physical game copies. Additionally, all multiplayer stats, and all
DLC purchased for in-game use, including Season Pass, transfer for
free within console family, as long as players' Xbox Gamertag or
PSN ID remains the same.
Biggest entertainment launch of the year is based on Call of
Duty: Advanced Warfare retail and digital sell-through, and
reported movie, music, and book gross sales, each for the first
week following initial launch, according to publicly-available
data, retail customer sell-through information, and internal
Activision estimates. Sales increase of Advanced Warfare versus
last year is based on sell-through in week after initial
launch.
The title is rated M for Mature with Blood and Gore, Drug
Reference, Intense Violence and Strong Language. For the latest
intel, check out: www.callofduty.com, www.facebook.com/callofduty,
www.youtube.com/callofduty or follow @CallofDuty on Twitter and
Instagram.
About Activision Publishing,
Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision
Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of
interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations
throughout the world. More information about Activision and its
products can be found on the company's website,
www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:
Information in this press release that involves Activision
Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies
regarding the future, including statements about Call of Duty:
Advanced Warfare, are forward-looking statements that are not facts
and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could
cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ
materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements
set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and
other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision
Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any
subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking
statements in this release are based upon information available to
Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of
this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision
Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when
made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not
guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or
Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and
other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause
actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, and CALL OF DUTY ADVANCED WARFARE are
trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.
Activision Publishing, Inc.Mike Mantarro,
310-255-2731mike.mantarro@activision.com
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