Activision Is Planning Mobile Versions Of Many Of Its Games

Regardless of what some people say, there are plenty of fantastic mobile games on the market these days. Despite this, so-called "hardcore gamers" continue to regard mobile gaming with disdain and distrust. I get it, to an extent. The market is flooded with knockoffs and cash-grabs. But sift through the sewage and I promise you'll find gold. (Case in point, Sky, which we just recently profiled.)

Now, the sewage/gold ratio in mobile gaming could be about to shift considerably, and irrevocably. Publisher Activision has confirmed its intention to really ramp up development of mobile titles, meaning we're potentially looking at an awful lot more gold... or a load more sewage. It could go either way, to be honest.

Activision Blizzard President and Chief Operating Officer Coddy Johnson revealed the news during an earnings call. He suggested that the Call Of Duty publisher is looking at every single one of its franchises and considering whether or not they could work as mobile titles.

"A third of our business is on mobile already," Coddy reminded investors. No doubt in reference to the fact Activision acquired the studio who makes the insanely-popular Candy Crush, King, back in 2016. Y'all have heard of Candy Crush, I'm sure. Don't lie to me.

"We have the largest mobile gaming presence in the west," he continued. "So we want to build on that leadership position. We think it's a foundation of strength to do that. [Mobile] is a massive opportunity, and we think not just for Call of Duty and not just for Diablo Immortal."

Coddy also explained that as mobile devices become more powerful, Activision is able to bring many of its AAA franchises to the small screen without sacrificing quality.

"The AAA kinds of games we make are ready to work on mobile because of the improving compute and graphics capability [of the mobile devices]," he said.

"And, honestly, because of evolving player expectations. It's now the case that many of the most successful global games are first-person action, strategy; those all align, as you might imagine, very well with our portfolio. [And] we have a growing ability to execute."

It doesn't comes as much of a surprise, this new found Activision/mobile love-in. Call Of Duty Mobile has been a massive success, and has no doubt emboldened Activision to see which of its other franchises could benefit from a mobile installment.

In fairness to Activision, Call Of Duty Mobile isn't simply a port that's been forced onto a mobile device with dodgy controls. It looks great, and feels fantastic to play. That's probably why it was downloaded 100 million times just one week after release, making it the biggest mobile game launch in history.

If Activision can apply a similar technique to long-forgotten franchises like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, that'd be neato burrito. Given the recent success of Mario Kart Tour, I also wouldn't bet against seeing Crash Team Racing arrive on mobile in some form at some point.

Featured Image Credit: Activision

Topics: Diablo, Call of Duty, Activision