Call of Duty: Black Ops III Scores over Half a Billion Dollar Opening Weekend

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Activision Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard ATVI, today confirmed that Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is the biggest entertainment launch of the year. In its first three days, the blockbuster title exceeded $550 million in sell-through worldwide, according to Activision estimates. The opening weekend haul is the biggest entertainment launch of 2015, including theatrical box office, music and book launches.

Engagement per player also set a new record for the Call of Duty® franchise. Additionally, fans played more than 75 million hours online in its opening three days.

"Call of Duty's millions of passionate fans have shown us, yet again, the strength of their commitment to this enduring franchise," said Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard's Chief Executive Officer. "Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the biggest entertainment launch this year in any medium, and bigger than any theatrical opening weekend ever."

"The Call of Duty: Black Ops III launch is bigger than any game, any movie, or any entertainment launch this year. But more importantly, our fans are engaging more deeply with the franchise than ever before. In fact, so far, people are playing Black Ops III for more hours per player than any Call of Duty game on record," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "Call of Duty is more than a game, it's a year round passion for a growing base of millions of fans and it's only gaining momentum."

"As we‘ve said from the start, PlayStation is the best place to play Call of Duty, and this record-breaking launch shows how true this statement is. Black Ops III is the biggest launch of the year so far, and the PlayStation Nation is ready. We're proud to call PlayStation the home of Call of Duty and look forward to supporting our community with DLC map pack content first," said Adam Boyes, VP of Publisher and Developer Relations, Sony Computer Entertainment America.

On PlayStation®4, Black Ops III set a new record as the best-selling digital full game by units sold in its first day of availability in PS4™ history.

"Call of Duty: Black Ops III is off to a great start at GameStop," said Bob Puzon, senior vice president of merchandising for GameStop. "The game's story line, new features and intense zombie mode, have helped make it our most successful title launch so far this year."

During the three-day opening, worldwide sales rose significantly over the previous two years, including setting a new franchise mark, as digital downloads of the game across next generation consoles rose nearly 100% from a year ago.

Black Ops III established new marks in viewership as the No. 1 most streamed and most viewed game of any game launch in 2015, as reported by Twitch.

Biggest entertainment launch of the year is based on Call of Duty: Black Ops III retail and digital sell-through, and reported movie, music and book gross sales, each for the opening three-days following initial launch, according to publicly-available data, retail customer sell-through information and internal Activision estimates. Digital download increase of Black Ops III versus last year is based on sell-through in first three days after initial launch. Engagement is based on internal recording of gameplay hours per player for the first three days after initial launch.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III published by Activision Publishing, Inc. and developed by Treyarch. The title is rated M for Mature and is available now. For the latest intel, check out: www.callofduty.com, www.youtube.com/callofduty or follow @Treyarch and @CallofDuty on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard ATVI, an S&P 500 company. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website,www.activision.com or by following @Activision.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS, and stylized roman numeral III are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

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