Activision financial results 'better than expected'

Activision Blizzard has posted 'better than expected' financial results for the first quarter of 2013.

The publisher's net revenues topped $1.32billion USD, up from the $1.17billion during the same period last year.

This was largely down to the successful launch of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm in March, which sold 1.1million copies worldwide within two days.

However it wasn't all good news for Activision Blizzard, as World of Warcraft lost 1.3million subscribers.

"Our first-quarter performance was driven by continued consumer interest in all of our key franchises," claimed Activision CEO Bobby Kotick.

He remained cautious on what the future holds though, pointing to several factors that raise concerns.

"While we have had a solid start to the year, we now believe that the risks and uncertainties in the back half of 2013 are more challenging than our earlier view, especially in the holiday quarter," he added.

"The shift in release dates of competing products, the disappointing launch of the Wii U, uncertainties regarding the next-generation hardware, and subscriber declines in our World of Warcraft business all raise concerns, as do continued challenges in the global economy. For these reasons, we remain cautious."