Starcraft II could generate $350M in sales this year

Game maker Blizzard Entertainment is preparing to release the much anticipated StarCraft II on July 27, and many gamers are salivating over the title, which is a sequel to the hit real-time strategy sci-fi game that came out more than a decade ago. Importantly for parent company Activision Blizzard, investors may be salivating too. The game cost a lot to develop, but less than the reported $100 million reported by the Wall Street Journal. Blizzard should more than make up for its costs with very healthy sales.

Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey said today that he’s expecting the game to sell at least 7 million units during this fiscal year for Activision Blizzard, which would result in sales of over $350 million. Hickey said that would also generate “an estimated $171 million in operating profit (assuming a 45% operating margin).” Moreover, Hickey believes that around 70 percent or more of the StarCraft II sales will happen during the Q3 period, resulting in about $245 million in sales. See Industry Gamers for  more.

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