Activision earnings report reveals great figures for ‘Destiny,’ growth with King Digital and more plans for ‘Skylanders’

Activision’s latest earnings call revealed that it has exceeded expectations for its first fiscal quarter for 2016. The company managed to achieve 23 cents per share on revenues of US$908 million (AU$1.2 million), as opposed to the expected non-GAAP earnings of 12 cents per share on revenues of US$812 million (approx. AU$1.1 million). Overall, the stock price of the company rose by 3.8 percent.

According to the official press release, these numbers can be attributed to the performance by last year’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.” Additionally, one of the more popular titles, “Destiny,” has also recorded over 30 million registered players. This may be due in part to the released “Destiny: The Taken King” update, which is continually being improved upon by developer Bungie with the latest “Destiny” April Update.

King Digital also takes credit for 23 percent of the adjusted revenue for the first quarter of Activision. The Wall Street Journal reported that the acquisition of King Digital allowed Activision to reach a combined total of 544 million monthly active users. As per the report, three-fourths of those numbers are from King Digital.

King Digital, known for its “Candy Crush Saga” mobile hit, is just one of Activision’s efforts in the mobile industry. Currently, its “Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft” is enjoying a 50-million player base. And it may just grow bigger from there especially in terms of earnings, as the company looks at monetising via advertising beyond its own games.

More than digital plans for its games, Activision is also looking to expand into TV territory with the “Skylanders” franchise. According to DualShockers, Activision is looking at a simultaneous launch of its 2016 “Skylanders” game and a “Skylanders Academy” TV series. The publisher made definite mention of it being a kids’ franchise, which may be its way of hyping up the game for a more massive audience.