In news that has exceeded expectations, publisher Activision Blizzard has revealed that it made a profit of $15m in the last financial quarter – a huge improvement on the $108m loss seen in the same period the year before.

Net revenues for the quarter ending September 30th hit $703m – slightly up on the $680m forecast previously issued by the publisher.

“Our performance was driven by positive audience response to Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 and the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises, as well as Blizzard’s World of Warcraft,” CEO Robert Kotick stated.

“During the quarter, we continued to see strong sales for Call of Duty World at War and associated map packs, which year to date have sold more than seven and half million units. Despite a challenging overall software market, the company grew its quarterly US share by 3.1 points over the previous year to 13.3 per cent.

“We believe we have the industry’s strongest holiday release schedule which includes Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Band Hero, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® 2, DJ Hero and Tony Hawk: RIDE.

"As of today, our calendar 2009 financial outlook remains unchanged based on the strength of the Call of Duty franchise and high consumer anticipation for Modern Warfare 2, which we project could be the largest entertainment launch of the year.”