Call of Duty Surpasses $3 Billion in Net Bookings Over Last 12 Months as Activision Ignites a New Business Model

Rhea-AI Summary

Activision's Call of Duty franchise has surpassed $3 billion in net bookings over the past year, with record engagement metrics. The franchise saw a year-to-date increase of 80% in net bookings and 40% in units sold through, totaling over 200 million players in 2020. The recent launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War promises continued momentum, supported by upcoming free content and community events. This positions the franchise for sustained growth, integrating with popular titles like Warzone.

Positive

• Over $3 billion in net bookings in the past 12 months.
• Year-to-date net bookings increased by over 80%.
• Units sold through increased by over 40% year-over-year.
• More than 200 million players engaged in 2020.

Negative

• None.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Activision’s iconic Call of Duty® series has set new franchise records as it shifts to a shared ecosystem business model. Following the record-setting launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the Call of Duty franchise has surpassed over $3 billion in net bookings* over the last 12 months with key performance metrics across engagement and premium game sales at all-time, franchise highs over the period.

Across Call of Duty there is strong momentum. Year-to-date increases include net bookings up over 80% and units sold through up over 40% year over year. Over 200 million people have played Call of Duty this year.** On console and PC, the franchise has delivered the highest number of players in recorded history this year, as well as the biggest November ever for monthly players and hours played.

Black Ops Cold War joined fan favorites Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® and Warzone™ as well as Call of Duty: Mobile in setting new marks across the Call of Duty ecosystem. Black Ops Cold War is the newest entry in the #1 selling series within Call of Duty and a direct sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops.

The launch of Black Ops Cold War is only the beginning. Additional free, post-release content for all Black Ops Cold War players is on the way as new seasons of content will continue to add and transform both the scope and scale of gameplay, with Season One set to debut this month.

“The momentum over the last year across the Call of Duty ecosystem from free-to-play Warzone as well as post-launch support of Modern Warfare, and now to Black Ops Cold War has been incredible,” said Byron Beede, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Call of Duty, Activision. “This is the next great chapter in Black Ops with an amazing campaign, an all-new zombies experience and of course, high-octane multiplayer. Launch is only the beginning. We are focused on building a continuous pipeline featuring a tremendous amount of free, post-launch content and events across the franchise.”

Call of Duty players can look forward to the biggest series of post-launch free content, community events and ongoing support ever in Black Ops plus close integration across the ecosystem with Warzone. The free-to-play, free-for-everyone Warzone, which has surpassed more than 85 million players since its launch, will take on a new dimension as it integrates with both Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare. Season One, coming this month, features brand new content for Black Ops Cold War and Warzone.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now worldwide on PlayStation® 5, PlayStation® 4, the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, and on PC, in a fully optimized experience for Battle.net, Blizzard Entertainment’s online gaming service. The title is published by Activision, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), and developed by award-winning studios Treyarch and Raven Software with additional development support from Beenox, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai and Sledgehammer Games. For more information visit: www.callofduty.com, or follow @CallofDuty on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Sales figures include Call of Duty retail and digital unit sales and revenues across console, PC and mobile releases; upfront, catalog and digital add-on sales. Units sold include full game sales. Total players and hours played based on Activision data.

About Activision

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com or by following @Activision.

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 the expected availability, features, and content for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, including about Season One, 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 10K 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.

* Net bookings is an operating metric that is defined as the net amount of products and services sold digitally or sold-in physically in the period, and includes license fees, merchandise, and publisher incentives, among others, and is equal to net revenues excluding the impact from deferrals.

**Based on Activision internal estimates and includes mobile

ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE, MODERN WARFARE, and WARZONE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

"PlayStation" is a registered trademark and "PS4" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.