Tom Warren

The FTC points out that Call of Duty was the “number one selling console game” for 13 years in a row. Kotick confirms this is correct. He also confirms Call of Duty Modern Warfare II made $1 billion within 10 days of launching in 2022. It was also the highest grossing entertainment opening, that includes games, TV, and movies, but Kotick says it’s more comparable to box office figures.

FTC points out there aren’t other console games that have had a more successful launch. “I think we’ve generally been the most successful of those games,” says Kotick.

FTC points out that Call of Duty: Vanguard was a rare disappointment for Activision. “It was disappointing in the commercial results,” says Kotick. But it was still the number one selling game for consoles in 2021.

He confirms he wouldn’t put Call of Duty on a subscription service and that currently Activision is generating no revenues from these kind of services. Kotick also says the company has “experimented with a few streaming services,” but has no plan to put games on streaming services.

Microsoft’s lawyer points out there are “different maps and weapons” on platforms and Kotick says not having these isn’t degrading a game and it’s marketing. Sony currently has a marketing deal with Activision for Call of Duty.

“It’s probably the second biggest video game system of all time,” says Kotick, with deep regret.

More here.

He’s now talking about how gaming is different to movies and TV. “The business is much more about you experiencing something and feeling like you’re taking action,” says Kotick.

He also discusses Sony:

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will appear in the afternoon, likely at around 1:30PM PT / 4:30PM ET. We’ll also hear from Nvidia’s Jeff Fisher briefly and Microsoft is also calling Dr. Dennis Carlton, another economics expert.