SANTA MONICA, Calif.,
Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that
Call of Duty®: Black Ops II has crossed the
$1 billion mark in worldwide retail
sales, according to Chart-Track retail customer sell-through
information and internal company estimates. Illustrating the
strong appeal of interactive entertainment to audiences worldwide,
the game achieved this milestone in just 15 days after its launch
on November 13, 2012. Last
year's Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®3 reached
$1 billion in retail sales in 16
days. The box office record set for feature films in 2009 by
"Avatar" was $1 billion in 17
days¹.
"The release of Call of Duty® has been one of the most
significant entertainment events of each of the last six years,"
said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. "Since
Call of Duty was launched, cumulative franchise revenues
from players around the world are greater than current
worldwide box office receipts to date for the top-10 grossing films
of 2012 combined. Life-to-date sales for the Call of
Duty franchise have exceeded worldwide theatrical box office
receipts for 'Harry Potter' and
'Star Wars,' the two most successful movie franchises of all
time."
Since the game's launch, more than 150 million hours have been
logged online playing Call of Duty: Black Ops
II on Xbox® LIVE® and PlayStation Network.
"Entertainment franchises that captivate audiences for as long
as Call of Duty has, on the scale that Call of Duty
has, are very rare things. And it takes a lot of brilliant people
working across many different disciplines to make it happen. It is
incredibly humbling and gratifying to be a part of," said
Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision
Publishing. "In order for Call of Duty to remain the
entertainment juggernaut that it is, and keep our fans coming back
for more, we need to continue to bring fresh ideas and new
innovations to the table every time, while always staying true to
what people fell in love with in the first place. That's what we
did with Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and that's what
we intend to keep on doing. This is an incredible milestone for an
incredible franchise, and I want to thank every passionate,
talented, committed person on our team who made it happen."
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is available at retail
locations worldwide on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment
system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system,
Wii U™ game system from Nintendo and Windows PC. The game is
rated "M" (Mature – Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong
Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs – content suitable for
persons ages 18 and older) by the ESRB.
More information on Call of Duty: Black Ops II can
be found at http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2 or on
www.facebook.com/codblackops. Fans can also follow @Treyarch
on Twitter.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in
Santa Monica, California,
Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer,
publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure
products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United
Kingdom, France,
Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Australia,
South Korea, mainland China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and
its products can be found on the company's website,
www.activision.com.
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
success of Call of Duty: Black Ops II and expected release of a
version of the title for the Wii U, 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 10-K 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.
ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, MODERN WARFARE, and CALL OF DUTY BLACK
OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other
trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective
owners.
¹According to screenrant.com
SOURCE Activision Publishing, Inc.
