November 2019 – Page 80

Activision Is Planning More Mobile Games, All Franchises Under Consideration

Activision is interested in ramping up its mobile game development. During an earnings call, Activision Blizzard president and chief operating officer Coddy Johnson said the company is looking at every one of its franchises to potentially bring to mobile.

He started off by reminding people that Activision Blizzard is already a company that is focused on mobile devices, with one-third of its total business coming from mobile. This is no doubt fueled in part by King, the mobile giant behind Candy Crush that Activision acquired in 2015.

“A third of our business is on mobile already. We have the largest mobile gaming presence in the west. So we want to build on that leadership position. We think it’s a foundation of strength to do that. [Mobile] is a massive opportunity, and we think not just for Call of Duty and not just for Diablo Immortal,” Johnson said.

The executive added that mobile devices are becoming more and more powerful, and this is helping Activision to adapt its traditional AAA franchises to smaller screens.

“The AAA kinds of games we make are ready to work on mobile because of the improving compute and graphics capability [of the mobile devices],” he said. “And honestly because of evolving player expectations. It’s now the case that many of the most successful global games are first-person action, strategy; those all align, as you might imagine, very well with our portfolio. [And] we have a growing ability to execute”

Johnson went on to say that Activision is uniquely positioned for success in the mobile market because it owns some of the biggest names in gaming. He pointed out that Call of Duty Mobile‘s recent release was enormously successful, with 100 million downloads, and this level of success might have only been possible because Call of Duty is such an established brand.

“We’re seeing that franchise familiarity and awareness matter–they matter fundamentally to the tune of hundreds of millions of people. When you reach out in the right way with franchises they’re willing to come in. So let’s the level of opportunity we see,” he said.

Johnson was asked directly if Activision might bring World of Warcraft or Overwatch to mobile, but he wouldn’t confirmed anything. However, he teased that Activision is considering “all of our franchises” for potential adaptation to the mobile market.

“In terms of what we’ll make, you might imagine we’re looking at all of our franchises. We want to do it where it makes sense,” he said.

Activision will consider releasing new mobile games under three main brackets. The first of these is a game that would “extend existing gameplay,” with Call of Duty Mobile as an example of that. Johnson pointed out that Call of Duty Mobile has maps, weapons, and characters from the console version, and similar adaptations could happen for other franchises. Johnson teased that Activision sees “a number of opportunities” to do this with other series.

Activision would also consider releasing mobile games that are “reimaginations” of a console/PC title. The card game Hearthstone–which exists in the Warcraft universe–was an example of this, Johnson said, and he teased that Activision has “a number of ideas like that” looking ahead. The third bracket is a “true cross-platform title” that is cross-compatible between console/PC and mobile right from the start, Johnson said.

Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest on Activision’s plans for more mobile games. In other news, Activision announced that it made $700 million from microtransactions in the last quarter.

The Outer Worlds Has Exceeded Publisher’s Expectations Critically And Commercially

The Outer Worlds hasn’t been out for long, but it’s already making waves for publisher Take-Two Interactive. The Obsidian-developed space RPG has performed well critically and commercially, and has apparently exceeded expectations.

During Take-Two’s investor call today, they discussed recent sales milestones for their biggest titles, as well as the company’s approach to microtransactions. The Outer Worlds was singled out separately as a title that had performed well, both critically (check out our 9/10 review) and commercially.

Company president Karl Slatoff called The Outer Worlds a “critical and commercial success” in the call, stating that it was “exceeding our expectations, and reviews have been outstanding.” Specific sales figures for the game’s launch period were not given, but the game is evidently doing well. This is especially good news for Microsoft, which recently bought out Obsidian with hopes of franchising The Outer Worlds on Xbox.

During the call, Take-Two also discussed the time frame for The Outer Worlds’ Switch release, which has now been narrowed down.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

A New Weeds TV Show Is Coming With Original Star, But Creator Is Not Involved

Weeds, the popular TV show about a mother who sells pot, is coming back. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Starz is working on a new Weeds show with original series star Mary-Louise Parker coming back to play Nancy Botwin again. She will also executive produce the show. However, Weeds creator Jenji Kohan is reportedly not involved at this stage.

The show is said to take place 10 years after the events of the original show. In this timeline, marijuana is now legal in some American states, just like it is in real life. Weeds ended with a time skip that showed Nancy operating a legal pot business, so this is presumably where the new show will pick up.

There is no word yet on if any of the other actors from the original Weeds will come back. The show also starred Hunter Parrish and Alexander Gould as the Botwin brothers, with Kevin Nealon as the questionable lawyer Doug Wilson. Justin Kirk played another one of the leads, Andy Botin, while Elizabeth Perkins played Nancy’s friend Celia.

The original Weeds ran for eight seasons, from 2005 through 2012. Johan, the show’s creator, went on to make Orange is the New Black for Netflix.

Lionsgate, which owns Starz, announced the new show during an earnings call. CEO Jon Feltheimer said the company is “thrilled” to bring back the show, which it is calling “Weeds 4.20,” at least as a working title.

The original Weeds ran on Showtime, which is owned by GameSpot parent company CBS.

Pistol Whip Review

My favorite virtual reality games to date are the ones that find the middle ground between giving you full control over movement and having you stand in place. Pistol Whip deserves comparison to virtual reality highlights like Beat Saber and Astro Bot: Rescue Mission thanks to a similar approach to camera management that moves everything around you in order to let you focus on where it excels: the shooting and the intense, driving soundtrack.

Pistol Whip takes the familiar but largely forgotten genre of the arcade on-rails shooter best known for Time Crisis and House of the Dead, places you in a strange, pulsating environment, and couples it with score incentives to fire your bullets on a rhythm. You won’t find a story conceit for why you’re steadily floating along a series of abstract, predetermined paths where bad guys want to shoot you, and that’s just fine. The look of the world and thumping soundtrack are enough to keep me engaged and firing at enemies, and making their low-detail forms collapse into a pile of pixels is rewarding every single time.

AHS: 1984 – Episode 8 “Rest in Pieces” Breakdown

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

This video has an invalid file format.

Sorry, but you can’t access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot’s
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

At Least Four New Heroes Could Be In The Works For Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2, which was revealed at BlizzCon last week, will introduce new heroes, maps, and modes. The only new hero officially confirmed during BlizzCon was Sojourn, and although we’re not yet sure how she’ll play, we know that she will be the first new character added to the game.

But several other characters are seemingly in the works at Blizzard too, even if they’re not ready to show them off yet. Game Informer was given an early look at the game back in early October, and saw a brief glimpse at some character art that hasn’t yet been shown off.

During a PowerPoint presentation at Blizzard’s office, run by game director Jeff Kaplan, four silhouettes for previously unseen heroes briefly appeared on screen. Game Informer believes that three of the four were likely women, but only got a proper look at two of them.

One was a woman with short hair, who had a “fuzzy little critter with pointy ears and an equally pointy tail” at their side. She wielded a “giant four-sided weapon,” which Game Informer compares to a thicker version of Yuffie’s shuriken from Final Fantasy VII. The other, who appeared to be a man, “held a crooked staff, looking somewhat like a wizard, warlock, or voodoo priest.”

Kaplan would not provide any further details about the heroes, and the slide was not up for very long, but it sounds like these four concepts are being worked on for eventual release. Overwatch 2 is a unique sequel in that a lot of the game’s content will also appear in the first Overwatch, including all new characters and maps. The new Story Mode will be exclusive to the sequel, however.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Activision Blizzard Made $700 Million From Microtransactions In Latest Quarter

Just like Take-Two, gaming giant Activision Blizzard is making lots and lots of money from microtransactions. The company confirmed in its earnings report that its microtransactions, which are called “in-game net bookings,” amounted to $709 million USD for the quarter ended September 30.

This is down by $323 million, or 31 percent, from the $1.032 billion that Activision Blizzard made from microtransactions during the same quarter last year. Check out the chart posted below to see a rundown of the numbers and comparisons to previous quarters.

Activision singled out Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 as a big success story for microtransactions during the quarter. Revenue from the sale of in-game items in Black Ops 4 “grew sharply” compared to Call of Duty: WWII during the same period last year.

One reason that total microtransaction revenue might have dropped year-over-year is that Activision no longer publishes the Destiny franchise. That series features numerous microtransaction opportunities including emotes, currency, and more.

Activision’s microtransaction strategy has been at times controversial. For Black Ops 4 specifically, some players remarked that the game’s microtransaction system pushed players toward spending extra money. Just this week, Activision announced that it is changing how the Black Market works to be more player-friendly. Some scoffed at the timing, given these welcome changes come at a time when a portion of the playerbase has moved on to the new game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Modern Warfare’s microtransactions are currently limited to just one item: a calling card that players can buy to support charity. Activision will add more microtransactions to the game in December with the launch of the first Battle Pass.

Here is a look at how microtransactions are performing at Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard is a giant company with multiple business divisions that each individually contribute to microtransaction revenue. The Blizzard unit benefited from the launch of WoW Classic during the period, while the mobile/social game unit, King, sells numerous microtransactions and operates an in-game advertising business for Candy Crush.

Microtransactions are big business at many big game publishers. In its own earnings report, Take-Two announced that it made more than $300 million from microtransactions during the latest quarter thanks to games like GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Gets Two New Maps, Hardpoint Mode, Battle Pass in December

A stream of new content is headed to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare this Friday, November 8. Additionally, Activision revealed that the new battle pass system is set to be implemented later this year in December. Per tomorrow’s update, fans will be treated to two new maps and will see the addition of the Hardpoint game mode.

Activision and Infinity Ward have decided to get rid of its traditional season pass system and opt into a battle pass instead. The decision to get rid of the season pass means that future map additions and game modes will come to all players on all platforms for no extra cost.

These New Items in Pokemon Sword and Shield Make Training a Breeze

Check out the new items you’ll find in Pokemon Sword and Shield.

It’s Time for a Super Mega Question Block – NVC 482

Welcome to Nintendo Voice Chat! This week, the NVC panel is answering all of your burning Nintendo questions. Join Zach Ryan, Brian Altano, Sam Claiborn, and Jonathon Dornbush for a super-sized edition of Question Block! Before that, the crew dives into the news of the week, including Terry Bogard’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate appearance, the huge Pokemon Sword and Shield leak, Bloodstain’s update on Switch, and more.