Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) hit a fresh 52-week high on Wednesday, and then it went on to disappoint investors with a shocking number of defections at its World of Warcraft franchise.
The leading game developer revealed that it closed out the quarter with 8.3 million subscribers to its online battle game, 1.3 million fewer than it had just three months earlier.
Things could get worse. Disney's (DIS -1.01%) new Skylanders knock-off -- Disney Infinity -- rolls out this summer. Skylanders Giants was Activision's biggest revenue driver during this past quarter, and Disney's brazen attempt at raising the bar by making a similar game with more familiar characters is going to dent Activision's business.
Then we get to November's release of Call of Duty: Ghosts. This is Activision's most successful franchise with annual November installments. However, with Microsoft (MSFT -2.45%) and Sony (SONY -0.33%) putting out new consoles around the time of the game's release, there may be some problems with exceeding last year's success.
In this video, longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz explains why investors may be concerned about the company's near-term prospects. Many of his fellow Fools see it differently, and the stock remains an active recommendation. Rick isn't as bullish.
