epa07906437 (FILE) - Attendees gather at the Activision Blizzard exhibit at the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) in Los Angeles, California, USA, 12 June 2013 (Reissued 08 October 2019). According to reports on 08 October 2019, Blizzard suspended Hong Kong based professional esports athlete Ng Wai 'Blitzchung' Chung from all competitions related to its game 'Hearthstone' for a year, as well as revoking his prize money for violating Blizzard's rules after he showed support to the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests by wearing a gas mask and shouting 'Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our age!' during a post match video interview in the 'Grandmasters competition'. EPA-EFE/MICHAEL NELSON By Supantha Mukherjee and Ayanti Bera
Videogame sales in the United States have surged in the last two months as the virus shut down the country and forced millions inside their homes, with sales in March hitting their highest in over a decade.
The company raised its 2020 adjusted revenue forecast to $6.9 billion from $6.73 billion, marginally above analysts' estimate of $6.86 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
It also forecast full-year adjusted earnings of $2.62 per share, beating estimate of $2.48.
Activision, like other gaming companies such as Electronic Arts, has a history of guiding conservatively and upgrading steadily as the year wears on, and most analysts expect them to stick with that approach.
While seeing positive opportunities for boosting performance this year, Activision flagged risks related to global economic weakness, rising unemployment, pressures on the retail channel and pricing issues, among other factors.
"We have aimed to be prudent in our guidance to account for these effects, and we believe there is potential for overperformance if these risks do not materialize," the company said in a statement.
Activision, has been pushing for user engagement on its big-budget titles by offering free content like new multi-player maps, hoping to boost in-game monetization.
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare", the best-selling game of this year so far according to data from research firm NPD, released a free-to-play battle-royale extension "Warzone" in March, which recorded over 60 million players till date.
The company, behind popular franchises such as "Diablo" and "World of Warcraft", reported total adjusted revenue of $1.52 billion for the first quarter ended March 31. Analysts, on average, had expected revenue of $1.32 billion.
The company's quarterly net income rose to $505 million, or 65 cents per share, from $447 million, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned 76 cents per share. Analysts had expected 38 cents per share. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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