Kotick: New Call of Duty planned for 2012, Diablo 3 still launching this year [Update: Diablo 3 in Q2!]
As far as the first part of that headline goes, yeah, we know -- truly gasp-worthy. Activision head honcho Bobby Kotick revealed plans for a new Call of Duty in the company's quarterly financial report, and that Activision is aiming to grow the Call of Duty Elite service year. Activision is "hard at work on Elite 2.0 with several features to be included in the next Call of Duty release," Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg added.
Kotick also reiterated that Diablo 3 would launch this year -- though we're assuming it won't make its previous "early 2012" date, unless Activision's idea of early in the year is within the first six months. Diablo 3 has undergone a substantial beta run, and it's still underway.
"Our extraordinary employees around the world are focused on making 2012 another great year for our audience and stakeholders," Kotick said. "Blizzard Entertainment plans to have multiple highly-anticipated titles to release, including Diablo 3, and Activision Publishing expects to release a new Call of Duty game. In addition, Activision Publishing expects to continue to grow Call of Duty Elite and launch Skylanders Giants."
Update: A slide in Activision's presentation (seen above) shows the company is aiming for a Q2 launch for Diablo 3.
