Activision Blizzard Inc. (
ATVI
)
is set to release its new
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
expansion pack on Mar 12, 2013. To commemorate the release,
Activision will host events around the US, France, Australia,
South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Russia, Brazil, and Mexico
beginning Mar 11.
In the US, the event will be co-hosted by Activision Blizzard
and its retail partner
GameStop Corp (
GME
)
. Players attending the events will be able to grab their
expansion copies for $39.99 (Standard edition) and $79.99
(collector's edition) at the stroke of midnight.
Activision will stream the launch events live, scheduled to be
held in Australia, South Korea, France, and the US. Besides
demonstrating the key features of the new expansion pack, the
streaming will also include additional exclusive video content
from
StarCraft II
Community, and "King of the Beta" tournament matches between top
professional gamers that will be played at Blizzard's
headquarters.
StarCraft
has been a hit franchise for Activision over the years. The
original version won critical acclaim as one of the top real-time
strategy games of all time.
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
was released on Jul, 2010 and sold more than 1.5 million copies
within the first 48 hours of its launch, thereby making it the
fastest-selling strategy game of all time.
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
is a sequel to the critically acclaimed
Wings of Liberty
and is the second part of the
StarCraft II
trilogy.
StarCraft II
centers on the clash between the protoss, terrans, and zerg. The
new expansion pack has an attractive storyline that follows the
adventures of former zerg Queen of Blade Sarah Kerrigan and the
development of a zerg empire.
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
comprises new multiplayer units for all the three races. The pack
includes 20 campaign missions, new upgraded weapons, group and
clan systems, unranked matchmaking and global play capabilities
that allow players to fight each other in different regions
around the world. The pack also adds new multiplayer maps, which
is an additional attraction.
We believe that the new expansion pack (which is releasing
after a gap of two years) will drive significant top-line growth
for Activision due to pent-up demand. However, we also believe
that the game faces significant competition from
Electronic Arts
'
(
EA
)
recently released
Mass Effect 3
downloadable contents (DLCs) and
Crysis 3
.
Moreover, the cannibalizing effect of free-to-play games from
EA and
Zynga (
ZNGA
)
is a major concern for Activision going forward. Additionally,
volatile macroeconomic environment, uncertainty related to the
console transition and tough year-over-year comparisons are the
other headwinds.
We believe that the continued softness in video game industry
retail sales, limited presence in the mobile and social gaming
segment and increasing investments in new products will continue
to hurt Activision's profitability in the near term.
Currently, Activision Blizzard has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong
Sell).
ACTIVISION BLZD (ATVI): Free Stock Analysis
Report
ELECTR ARTS INC (EA): Free Stock Analysis
Report
GAMESTOP CORP (GME): Free Stock Analysis
Report
ZYNGA INC (ZNGA): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research