Next-Gen reports that revenues are expected to reach $823 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, up from $816 million a year prior and significantly higher than the company’s $600 million quarterly guidance.

The Activision results are only preliminary as the publisher wrestles with a stock option grant investigation that has deemed past financial statements unreliable.

Q4 is expected to bring in $170 million in revenues, and because of the strong Q3, overall fiscal 2007 is forecasted to generate $1.37 billion, up from the prior outlook of $1.15 billion. Fiscal 2008 revenue is still expected to exceed $1.6 billion.

Activision CEO Robert Kotick said in a statement, “Net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 are expected to be the highest in Activision’s history. Our results were driven by a smaller, high-quality game slate that was anchored by four key games -- Call of Duty 3, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Tony Hawk’s Project 8 and Guitar Hero II."

"We remain optimistic about the long-term opportunities afforded by the new consoles, although we are cautious of the many risks that still exist as we transition from the current-generation console and handheld systems to the next-generation of hardware.”