Ed Barton / Published - 14 Jan 10

After a reasonable if unspectacular first nine months, the crucial Christmas quarter will determine the success or otherwise of Activision Blizzard's 2009. GMI believes that the company will generate $2.3bn in revenue in the quarter, beating guidance by over $100m and hence its guidance for the year by a similar amount. GMI believes that Activision Blizzard will generate around $4.6bn in 2009, beating guidance for the year of $4.5bn by around $100m. Naturally it looks unlikely that the company will be able to maintain its proud boast of increasing revenues year-on-year as it had for the previous sixteen years, with 2009 likely to come in well below 2008's $5bn.