Activision Blizzard posts record digital revenue

Activision Blizzard's fiscal third quarter report reveals the company has posted revenues over $100 million more than it has originally estimated in its outlook for the period. The quarter, which ended September 30, saw the publishing giant post revenues of $754 million, up from $745 million during the same reported period last year. Activision Blizzard had originally set its outlook for the quarter at $650 million.

Fifty-seven percent of Activision Blizzard's total revenue came from digital channels, totalling another record $427 million for the company, up from $363 million the same period a year ago. For a major contributor to the increase, we suspect we need not look any further than Call of Duty: Black Ops, which Activision Blizzard called "the [number one] best-selling title in dollars in aggregate across all platforms in the U.S. and Europe for each of the first three quarters of 2011."

According to the report, GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) net revenues for the year from the company's digital channels grew 25% to $1.28 billion, accounting for 38% of total net revenues. Net income for the company lept from $51 million the same quarter last year to $148 million.

With the reported increase in revenue, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on store shelves, and the "stronger than expected" commercial response to the toy-focused title Skylanders: Spryo's Adventure, Activision Blizzard has increased its original revenue outlook for the remainder of the year from $4.18 billion to $4.33 billion.