Guitar Hero, WoW & World At War Give Activision Great Q3 Results

Things are lookin’ up for old Activision Blizzard. The publisher announced today that business is good, better than expected even, resulting in a $US755 million quarter for the company.

Activision Blizzard had kind words for the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises, which apparently many of you bought over the last three months, helping Acti-Blizz zoom past its projected $US700 million quarter. CEO Robert “Bobby” Kotick pointed to “positive audience response to Activision Publishing’s Guitar Hero 5, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, and the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises, as well as Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft.”

The company also claimed that in September sales of music games in the US increased 72 per cent year on year, which “demonstrates the sustained interest in this new and important game category”. So, nothing to worry about!

Kotick seemed similarly pleased with the company’s expected ability to “deliver record non-GAAP operating margins based on the strength of the Call of Duty franchise and high consumer anticipation for Modern Warfare 2, which we project could be the largest entertainment launch of the year.”

No one can deliver non-GAAP operating margins like these guys. No one.