Yesterday (May 5th, 2020), Activision held a investor call for Quarter 1 of 2020. [Read, or listen to the entire call here.] They didn’t really announce a lot to write home about, but we did get something out of the call. Call of Duty’s 2020 title is in development, and according to President and Chief Operating Officer, said the 2020’s title “already looks great.”
Activision said that they do not plan on delaying the game, unless absolutely necessary. Bobby Kotick delved into the safety of their employees during the COVID19 pandemic…
“Our goal to connect the world through epic entertainment is more important to our players than ever before,” said Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard. “We delivered strong financial results for the first quarter, and are raising our full year outlook. I have been awestruck by the strength of our employees and their families during this difficult time. Whether managing healthcare or childcare, performing public service or community service, our teams around the world have shown ingenuity and resilience. In the face of so many difficulties, our employees have made certain that the joy, the engagement, and the benefits of gaming remain an effective way to help keep our 400 million players around the world connected and safe.”
Activision reiterated that the ‘premium Call of Duty title’ (Call of Duty 2020) is “on track for release later this year.” Rumor is that Call of Duty 2020’s development was a mess, so they had to switch lead developer over disagreements between Sledgehammer Games, and Raven Software. It’s rumored that Treyarch is taking over as lead, with Sledgehammer Games, and Raven Software as support.
We won’t know for sure until the game is fully revealed. It’s the month of May currently, so we’ll see teasers and reveal this month, since that’s the usual reveal pattern of Call of Duty games. The months of March, April, and May are usually when teasers, leaks, and reveals happen. But, so far, it hasn’t happened.
That’s not all, Activision revealed more information on sales numbers for their portfolio titles, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Activision announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare sold more copies, and has more players than any point of Call of Duty’s lifespan. This announcement means from launch to the earnings call, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare sold more than any Call of Duty title to date. I repeat that; more copies than any Call of Duty game in the franchise – that means more than CoD4, Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops 2 and 3.
Furthermore, Activision announced that the Call of Duty franchise earned $956 Million for Q1 (From January 2020 to March 2020) compared to 2019’s Q1 earnings at $794 Million.
Finally, Warzone was released on March 10, 2020. On April 10th, Call of Duty: Warzone reached 50 Million players. During the call, Activision announced that Warzone reached 60 Million players.
