In a fiscal report for the first quarter of 2014, Activision revealed that its Call of Duty and Skylander franchises are holding strong. Call of Duty: Ghosts, the most recent game in the series, is the #1 selling title life-to-date on PS4 and Xbox One in North America and Europe combined. This means it outpaced competition like EA’s Battlefield 4. It was also the #2 title in North America and Europe combined for the first quarter. Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, called it “an important achievement as we establish Call of Duty as the first person action game of choice for the next-gen.”
Skylanders: Swap Force was equally impressive as it was the #1 title in the first quarter in North America and Europe combined, including toys and accessories. Activision also noted that the franchise overall has now had over $2 billion in sales with over 175 million toys sold.
The company also talked up their plans for new entries in both of their top franchises with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Skylanders: Trap Team releasing later this year, November 4 and October 5, respectively. It also mentioned Destiny, which it expects to become its next billion dollar franchise and is already on track for record pre-orders for a new IP.
Activision as a whole surpassed expectations, bringing in $772 million in revenue. However, this is still slightly down from last year when the company brought in $804 million.
What are your thoughts on the continued success of Call of Duty and Skylanders? Let us know in the comments below.
