Activision Blizzard announces better-than-expected first quarter 2013 financial results, reporting GAAP net revenues of $1.32 billion (compared with $1.17 billion for the first quarter of 2012). The company's non-GAAP net revenues were $804 million ($587 million for the first quarter of 2012). As for earnings: "For the quarter ended March 31, 2013, Activision Blizzard’s GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.40, as compared with $0.33 for the first quarter of 2012. On a non-GAAP basis, the company’s earnings per diluted share were $0.17, as compared with $0.06 for the first quarter of 2012." This includes word that WoW has lost another 1.3 million subscribers ("mainly from the East, but in the West as well") along the way. Here are their selected business highlights:

• As of March 31, 2013, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft remains the #1 subscription-based MMORPG, with 8.3 million subscribers.²
• For the first quarter, Blizzard Entertainment had two top-10 PC titles in both North America and Europe with Blizzard Entertainment’s StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm and Diablo® III.¹
• As of March 31, 2013, in North America and Europe combined, Activision Publishing was the #1 publisher overall for the quarter, including accessory packs and figures, with the #1 and #2 best-selling franchises – Skylanders and Call of Duty®.³
• In both North America and Europe, including accessory packs and figures, Activision Publishing’s Skylanders Giants™ was the #1 best-selling game overall in dollars for the first quarter of 2013.³
• For the quarter, in North America and Europe combined, Activision Publishing’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the #2 best-selling title in dollars.¹
• During the quarter, non-GAAP digital revenues from Activision Publishing’s Call of Duty franchise increased more than 100% year over year.²
• On May 1, 2013, Activision Publishing announced that it will release its new Call of Duty game, Call of Duty: Ghosts, on November 5, 2013.
• On April 29, 2013, Blizzard Entertainment announced that it will release Diablo III for the Sony PlayStation® 3 computer entertainment system later this year. As announced previously, Blizzard also plans to adapt the game for the Sony PlayStation 4.
• On March 22, 2013, Blizzard Entertainment announced Hearthstone™: Heroes of Warcraft™, a new cross-platform free-to-play game for Windows®, Macintosh®, and iPad®.
• On March 12, 2013, Blizzard Entertainment launched StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. As of the end of its first two days of sales, Heart of the Swarm had sold through approximately 1.1 million copies worldwide, including both retail and digital sales.²
• On February 5, 2013, Activision Publishing announced Skylanders SWAP Force™, the newest installment in the popular Skylanders franchise.