Will Activision Blizzard Stock Rise After Youtube Streaming Deal?

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) dropped a big announcement just days before its Q4 earnings are due. On Jan. 24, the video game company announced a new partnership with Alphabet’s(NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google. The deal will see Activision Blizzard’s popular esports leagues stream exclusively on YouTube. In addition, Google Cloud becomes the preferred provider for the company’s online gaming. After a disastrous 2018 that saw the stock fall off a cliff and lose over 40% of its value in three months, Activision was in recovery mode in 2019. The Google deal, added to the boost from new game console launches this fall, will help ATVI stock continue on the growth path.

Activision will be dumping Amazon’s(NASDAQ:AMZN) Twitch to stream its esports league events exclusively on YouTube. This brings the popular Call of Duty, Hearthstone and Overwatch leagues to YouTube.

Esports not only helps to drive video game sales, the popularity of live streaming games is becoming an advertising bonanza. According to Neilson, Overwatch had a global average-minute audience of 313,000 viewers. That’s enough to bring in big-name advertisers including Coca Cola (NYSE:KO). Those numbers were up 18% last year, and the reach of YouTube could drive growth higher.

Terms of the deal weren’t released. However, Amazon had paid Activision $90 million for a two-year deal on Twitch for Overwatch. The YouTube deal is almost certainly richer.

Could the Relationship With Google Expand?

One interesting possibility that’s been raised by the deal with YouTube, is ATVI’s relationship with Google. There haven’t been any Activision Blizzard titles released for Google’s Stadia video game streaming service. However, as part of the YouTube deal, Google Cloud becomes the preferred provider for ATVI’s online gaming infrastructure.

This has raised hopes that the close relationship could turn into popular Activision Blizzard games like Call of Duty making their way to Stadia. 

New Game Consoles Will Spur Sales

Activision Blizzard Stock was relatively flat between 2009 and the start of 2013. That’s when it entered a period of rapid growth. ATVI ended 2012 under $11, and by the fall of 2018, it had topped $83. One of the biggest catalysSts for that performance? Video game consoles. In 2013, Microsoft(NASDAQ:MSFT) launched the Xbox One and Sony (NYSE:SNE) released the PlayStation 4. The next-gen game consoles kickstarted demand for video games.

Bottom Line on ATVI stock

Those who bought Activision Blizzard at its peak in 2018 watched their investment break a five-year growth streak to plummet in value. In the final three months of that year, ATVI stock lost over 40% of its value. Last year, the company had its ups and downs and it was a period of slow recovery, with the stock gaining 27% over the course of the year.

This year has the makings of a banner year for the company. Investment analysts see that, and ATVI stock continues to be a consensus “buy.”

Esports saw revenue top $1 billion globally in 2019, and Activision Blizzard is well-positioned to take a bigger chunk of that. The new deal to have Call of Duty, Hearthstone and Overwatch leagues stream exclusively on YouTube, is expected to expand the company’s reach. Add the launch of new game consoles in the mix — just in time for the holiday shopping season — and ATVI stock is poised to continue its 2019 recovery through 2020.

#YouTube, #google, #Activision, #blizzard, #esports, #EA

Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided Review

William: When you first met them, how much did they trust you?
Clementine: What's your point?
William: If people don't trust you, then how can you trust them?

Well, I going to try something different.  Instead of giving you the game information you can google, I will give my opinion and critique about the game and no cursing. Telltale Games just release another chapter to the Walking Dead series, and it is as powerful as its predecessors. Your choices made in Season 1 and the "400 Days" DLC will affect the decisions in Season 2. Although "400 Days" is not a direct part of the story thread joining Seasons 1 and 2, the player's actions in "400 Days" will affect some elements of Season 2.

Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided features Clementine as the main character again.  This time around Clementine is a seasoned survivor.  She's only 11, but she's top tier in terms of kicking butt and being street smart with her decision making.  While playing the game, I felt more confident in Clementine surviving the situation than her older companions.

I love how Telltale games progressed Clementine's character in this chapter.  She's no long innocent and naive about her surroundings.  In the Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided, Clementine is shown as a child that is a product of an apocalypse environment.  She's angry, cunning, impatient with weakness, and accepting of tough choices she must make to survive.  I am amazed how well this girl can adapt, lie and take advantage of her surroundings in order to stay alive.  I feel like it's a game of chess with wit as your pieces to play.

The only noteworthy side-note to this fiasco is that you are reunited with Kenny who in my opinion is not the same.  Kenny comes off as bi-polar with half his mind in the past and the other half of his mind being reluctant to accept the present.  I couldn't help but to fell sorry for Kenny since his family is dead along with most of his friends.  He's just surviving and even I would find it hard to cope with the circumstances.

In the Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided, you are introduced to a different dynamic that I found interesting.  The axiom of choice is which side do you pick?  Will you stay with a new group you can't trust or go with your familiar friend who is a broken shell of his former self.  To the untrained eye the choice seems obvious, but an interest twist is thrown in the plot that compounds the conflict of interest.

Eventually you learn that Pete's group is on the run from William Carver, the leader of a cult like community similar to the Governor.  The baby that Rebecca is having belongs to Carver not Alvin, so Carver is relentlessly hunting the group down to reunite his "family".  I must admit I had a Stockholm syndrome moment because it seems kind of like a logical sequence of events and rationale to me.

Following an intense zombie shootout, the group is rescued and captured by Carver's group.  The game ends with the death of some minor characters, but a new era is ushered in by this event.  From the looks of the preview, we see that it's going to be an oppressive environment that wit alone won't save Clementine from hardship.

Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided's story-line kept me engaged and willing to see it through to the end. The game was short and could be beaten in an hour if you rush.  It's worth a play through to see how your choices will develop the story, so I give Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided an 7.5/10.