Although the total number of subscription base fell to 11.1 million in the period WoTLK Gold, Blizzard said it saw an increase in revenue for the period. In an earnings conference call after the quarter, Blizzard president Mike Morhaime explained the increase in revenue as a result of the presence of the game in China. Morhaime also pointed out that Blizzard has increased its investments in product development in the quarter.
Of course, another important factor in Activision Blizzard's overall bottom and top line is the World of Warcraft franchise. In citing figures provided by NPD, CharkTrack, and Gfk, Activision Blizzard said World of Warcraft: Black Ops was the most popular overall title in both The US and Europe in the first quarter of 2011. Since its launch in November last year, Black Ops has now sold around 25 million units to date.
While it's not as good as last year's, Activision Blizzard has a variety of games scheduled for the period July-September. The newly announced World of Warcraft: Black Ops - Resurrection add-on that is available for download is one of the most notable of these. The other releases are Silicon Knights' X-Men Destiny (September 27) and Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2012.
Activision Blizzard also announced Cabela's Hunting Party today, saying it will launch in September, on Xbox 360. The publisher said it will also be "Kinect-ready."
In light of its expectations-setting performance in the first two quarters of its fiscal year, Activision Blizzard also raised its earnings forecast for the full year. The company is now expected to earn $4.18 billion of revenue in the coming year, an increase from the initial estimates that were $4.05 billion. Investors have so far responded positively to buy WOW WoTLK Classic Gold the company's performance and shares have risen by 1.6 per cent to $12.01 at the time of writing.