Activision: New Call of Duty, Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero in 2010
Publisher Activision-Blizzard has revealed their plans for 2010 during Wednesday’s conference call. They have confirmed that their most popular franchises, such as Call of Duty, Tony Hawk, and Guitar Hero, will return by the end of the calendar year.
New Call of Duty games will continue to be released yearly, with a new title expected by Treyarch at the end of 2010. Bobby Kotick also suggested that the franchise may incorporate subscription plans in the future, based on the success of World of Warcraft.
Both Guitar Hero and DJ Hero are expected to return this year with a stronger emphasis on the software, but due to the decline of the rhythm games, Activision has promised to cut down the costs of hardware and reduce the number of games released.
A new Tony Hawk title is also expected, once again utilizing the same motion-sensitive skateboard peripheral as the previous game, Tony Hawk: Ride. Despite its poor sales, Activision expects to release a stronger title, without distractions of new hardware
It was also mentioned that Bizarre Creation’s upcoming racing title, Blur, will launch a multiplayer beta this coming March, although it was not said which platforms it would be open to.
Finally, Blizzard expects to release two of its highly anticipated games this year: Starcraft 2 is targeted to arrive during the middle of 2010, with closed beta testing “ready to launch this month.”
World of Warcraft also returns in the upcoming expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, due in the ‘back half of 2010.’ The expansion completely revamps the old world for low level characters and invites existing players to level up to 85 and challenge new dungeons.
Blizzard has previously focused on high level content leaving the old world unchanged since it’s 2004 launch, contributing to the stabilization of subscriptions. Since 2008, World of Warcraft has maintained a stable 11.5 million subscribers, however, Blizzard stated that only 30 percent of people that purchase the game past the first ten levels, let alone continue after the first month.
Cataclysm’s strong emphasis on low level content provides a fresh and accessible start for new players, which could potentially increase high sales and subscription numbers for Activision Blizzard.