Activision’s Profitable First Quarter

It’s been a hectic first quarter for Activision but it appears it’s been a profitable one. The publisher has seen better-than-expected profits of $381 million for the quarter ending March 2010. That’s over double the amount from the same period last year.

Activision CEO – Bobby Kotick- has attributed the rise to Call of Duty and Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft; both of which are still seeing strong sales.

But their first quarter hasn’t gone by without its fair share of troubles. Since Jason West and Vince Zampella were publicly fired by Activision, several members of staff have followed them to their new company – Respawn Entertainment and over 35 members of staff are now taking legal action against Activision. Analysts are now talking about Infinity Ward closing altogether. Bobby Kotick has a different opinion.

But Activision have been quick to fill this gap by signing Halo developers – Bungie – to a 10-year exclusive contract.

Activision’s second quarter will see the release of Blur, Transformers: War for Cybertron, Shrek Forever After and Singularity. Kotick believes the profits will remain and provide the mega-publisher with a “record calendar year”.

Thanks, GI.biz