Barron’s cited reports of hours-long wait times to log into the game, and quoted Blizzard
Entertainment, a subsidiary of Activision, as saying World of Warcraft
Classic set a record for launch-day concurrent viewers on Twitch, a
platform which hosts live-streams of gamers playing which people can
watch.
“The business model for World of Warcraft is highly profitable, with a subscription costing $15 a month. If World of
Warcraft Classic drives a couple million new subscribers for a few
quarters, it would boost the company’s earnings significantly,” Barron’s
said.The Santa Monica, California-based video-games maker, which has a
market capitalization of $38.8 billion according to data from
Refinitiv’s Eikon, has endured a rough few months, compounded by intense
competition.
Its share price slumped by half between October and mid-February, when it announced weak full-year results for 2018 and 800
job cuts. The company’s chief financial officer also warned at the time
2019 would be a transition year, with few frontline releases planned.
However, having traded in a stable band since then, the stock price rose 6.9
percent last week to end at $50.60. Barron’s said, with 2019 releases
now likely to do better than expected and momentum into next year,
“there’s probably still plenty of upside” for Activision.Barron’s also
noted positive reviews for the recent first public demonstration for
Activision’s latest installment of the Call of Duty series, which also
bode well for the company’s outlook.
