Activision Blizzard
ATVI
recently announced the launch of
Diablo Immortal
, an expansion of its most iconic game franchise
Diablo
.
As a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game,
Diablo Immortal
allows players to experience the game alone or with others.
Currently, Diablo Immortal is live and available for download on Android and iOS platforms and in open beta on Windows PC via Battle.Net, throughout most regions in the world. The game will be made available in select Asia-Pacific regions from Jun 22.
Per an
engadget
article,
Diablo Immortal
, the free-to-play, will not be released in Belgium and Netherlands due to their gambling restrictions.
The recent launch of
Diablo Immortal
will not only boost Activision’s gaming portfolio and subscriber base.
Activision Blizzard, Inc Price and Consensus
Activision Blizzard, Inc price-consensus-chart
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Activision Blizzard, Inc Quote
Portfolio Strength to Aid Company’s Top Line
Activision Blizzard’s growth has been supported by the strong performance of its iconic and popular game franchises, including
Diablo
,
Call of Duty (COD)
,
Overwatch
,
World of Warcraft (WoW)
,
Candy Crush Saga
and
Candy Crush Friends Saga.
Despite the year-over-year decline in revenues in the last reported quarter, due to the resumption of normal work-life post COVID, the company’s King in-game net bookings witnessed an increase of $40 million, driven by the
Candy Crush
franchise. The trend is likely to have continued in the near term.
Activision Blizzard has an exciting slate of releases that are expected to boost the top line in the near term.
The company has plans to release its next premium title in its
Call of Duty
franchise in the second half of 2022. Throughout the year, Activision expects to deliver ongoing content for its various franchises, including continued in-game content for Call of Duty: Vanguard, new content for key Blizzard franchises and continued releases of content, features and services across King’s portfolio, with focus on the
Candy Crush
franchise in the remaining of 2022.
Activision Blizzard plans to launch
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
, the upcoming
World of Warcraft (WoW)
expansion, in the second half of 2022, which will likely boost the top line.
The recent launch of
Diablo Immortal
on mobile and PC is likely to aid the franchise in expanding Diablo’s reach before the launch of
Diablo IV
, anticipated to release in 2023.
This portfolio of game line-ups is expected to boost the company’s user growth and net bookings in the near term, driving the top line.
Such investments made by the company in improving its franchises are expected to drive growth in users and engagement and help Activision improve its competitive position against the likes of
Take Two Interactive Software
TTWO
and
Electronic Arts
EA
.
Take Two’s Private Division and Roll7 announced that
Rollerdrome
will be launched in August 2022 for digital download on PlayStation and PC.
Electronic Arts’ Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games also unveiled the next chapter of the popular Star Wars action-adventure series,
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
, scheduled to be launched sometime in 2023.
In January,
Microsoft
MSFT
announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard. Microsoft will pay $95.00 per Activision share, with the total transaction value being $68.7 billion.
Microsoft’s, through its decision to acquire this Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) company, showcases its intent to expand its gaming business. Activision’s popular gaming franchises, including the recent launch, will add more titles to its Xbox Console.
You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
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