Activision and Sony Gear Up for Highly Anticipated Destiny Release

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By Chris Lange Updated Published
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Activision and Sony Gear Up for Highly Anticipated Destiny Release

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Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is set to deliver the highly anticipated expansion in its Destiny franchise, “Destiny: Rise of Iron.” At the same time, the company is offering a rerelease of all of its previous Destiny titles combined into “Destiny – The Collection.” This is looking to be easily one of the most anticipated video game releases in recent history.

It is worth noting that Destiny sold more copies at its launch in 2014 than any game in Activision’s history, and that its expansion released a year ago generated record digital sales via the Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 4.

However, management believes that the newest Destiny expansion could be the biggest one yet. Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision, commented:

Rise of Iron’s record shattering pre-orders make it by far our most anticipated expansion for Destiny ever–and for good reason. It’s packed with incredible new adventures that Destiny players are going to love. Along with our partners at Bungie, we can’t wait for our fans to explore ‘The Plaguelands,’ conquer an entirely new Raid, ‘Wrath of the Machine,’ and tackle all new modes, a new Strike, quests, weapons, and gear. I, for one, can’t stop playing. And you won’t be able to either.

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Apart from this, “Destiny – The Collection” is one of the largest content offerings in gaming this year, comprising all the magic of Destiny since its beginning in 2014. It is the perfect opportunity for new and returning Guardians to join the fight for humanity’s survival, and it includes a character boost allowing players to instantly level up and join their friends. Additionally, legacy-gen console players can utilize the Destiny upgrade program to transition to current-gen until January 31, 2017.

So far in 2016, each of these companies has outperformed the broad markets, with Activision up 15% and Sony up 30%.

Shares of Activision Blizzard were last seen up 0.5% at $44.32 on Tuesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $46.50 and a 52-week trading range of $26.49 to $44.84.

Sony shares were up 2% at $32.60, in a 52-week trading range of $19.90 to $33.86. The consensus price target is $42.85.

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Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

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