Activision Blizzard
ATVI
recently announced that the expansion of Diablo IV,
See You in Hell,
which is releasing on Jun 6, 2023, is available for pre-booking of its standard, deluxe and ultimate editions.
The game introduces the players to the darkest and the most expansive vision of Sanctuary as the demon Lilith and the angel Inarius, who had once united to escape the eternal conflict between heaven and hell, have now become bitter enemies and have raged war against each other.
The title will support cross-play and cross-progression across platforms such as Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, and will also engage in live service and provide ongoing storytelling.
Diablo has been one of the most popular gaming franchises in gaming history with
Diablo III
being its best seller with over 65 million copies sold. Besides,
Diablo Immortal
released on Jun 2 had the most successful launch in franchise history, with over ten million downloads within the first week.
It is expected that the trend of excitement and appreciation for the Diablo series will continue and the new expansion will not just draw existing but also new players to the game and boost its top line.
Activision Blizzard Adds Strength to Its Gaming Portfolio
Along with Blizzard, it is being seen that Activision too has been focusing on its gaming content and receiving traction from players for its recent and upcoming games.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
, which was released on Oct 28, broke franchise records as it crossed $1 billion in worldwide sales in the first ten days. The player engagement was over 200 million hours and over 1 billion matches across PlayStation, Xbox and PC platforms.
It is also launching
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile
in 2023, a free-to-play battle royale mobile game, which already has 20 million players pre-registered on Google Play.
Activision recently also announced a new game,
Crash Team Rumble
, which will be a four-versus-four team-based online multiplayer game slated to be released in 2023 on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, and Xbox One.
Activision Blizzard, Inc Price and Consensus
Activision Blizzard, Inc price-consensus-chart
|
Activision Blizzard, Inc Quote
However, it is feared that the expected success of the company through its line-up of games may be offset by the blow that has been hailed at Blizzard as it failed to extend its 14-year licensing agreement with local firm
NetEase
NTES
.
NetEase has been a developer and operator of Blizzard’s games in China and the expiration of the contract would compel Blizzard to suspend its services from China, which was a huge market for the company.
Besides this, Activision’s deal of being acquired by Microsoft has been facing great repercussions as the FTC has recently sued the latter to block the deal.
Nevertheless, shares of Activision Blizzard have gained 12.4% year to date against the Zacks
Consumer Discretionary
Sector, which fell 34.3%.
Activision Blizzard to Face Competition
Though this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is strengthening its gaming pipeline, it still faces tough competition from competitors like
Electronic Art
s
EA
and
Take-Two Interactive
TTWO
.
You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
Shares of Electronic Arts have declined 4.3% year to date. However, in second-quarter fiscal 2023, its net bookings were up 4% year over year, which is further expected to bolster with the release of
Dead Space
and
Wild Hearts
in 2023.
Shares of Take-Two have declined 43.2% year to date. The company has recently launched Marvel’s
Midnight Suns
, which could add to its top line. It expects fiscal 2023 revenues to jump 73.3% year over year.
Zacks Names “Single Best Pick to Double”
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.
Click to get this free report
