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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark one)

For the Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2012

OR

For the transition period from                   to                  

Commission File Number 1-15839

ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(310) 255-2000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant:  (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes x  No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes x  No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.  See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes o No x

The number of shares of the registrant’s Common Stock outstanding at October 31, 2012 was 1,112,704,853.

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ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains, or incorporates by reference, certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements consist of any statement other than a recitation of historical fact and include, but are not limited to: (1) projections of revenues, expenses, income or loss, earnings or loss per share, cash flow or other financial items; (2) statements of our plans and objectives, including those relating to product releases; (3) statements of future financial or operating performance; and (4) statements of assumptions underlying such statements. Activision Blizzard, Inc. (“Activision Blizzard”) generally uses words such as “outlook,” “forecast,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” “future,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and other similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic risk, reflect management’s current expectations, estimates and projections about our business, and are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict. Our actual results could differ materially from expectations stated in forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may affect our future results include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Blizzard’s titles, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment and market conditions within the video game industry, increasing concentration of titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, Activision Blizzard’s ability to predict consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as first-person action and massively multiplayer online games and preferences among competing hardware platforms, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors, and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers that can consistently create high quality “hit” titles, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive entertainment market, changing business models including digital delivery of content, competition including from used games and other forms of entertainment, possible declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, litigation risks and associated costs, protection of proprietary rights, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, potential challenges associated with geographic expansion, and the other factors identified in “Risk Factors” included in Part II, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and in our other periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The forward-looking statements contained herein are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Although these forward-looking statements are believed to be true when made, they may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of our future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

Activision Blizzard’s names, abbreviations thereof, logos, and product and service designators are all either the registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names of Activision Blizzard. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.

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ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)

(Amounts in millions, except share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

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ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

(Amounts in millions, except per share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

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ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(Unaudited)

(Amounts in millions)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

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ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

(Amounts in millions)

(1)          Excludes deferral and amortization of stock-based compensation expense.

(2)          Includes the net effects of capitalization, deferral, and amortization of stock-based compensation expense.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

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ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2012

(Unaudited)

(Amounts in millions)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

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ACTIVISION BLIZZARD, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

1.              Description of business and basis of consolidation and presentation

Description of Business

Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a worldwide online, personal computer (“PC”), video game console, handheld and mobile device game publisher. The terms “Activision Blizzard,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” are used to refer collectively to Activision Blizzard, Inc. and its subsidiaries.  We maintain significant operations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea and China.

The common stock of Activision Blizzard is traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol “ATVI.” Vivendi S.A. (“Vivendi”) owned approximately 61% of Activision Blizzard’s outstanding common stock at September 30, 2012.

Currently, we operate under three operating segments:

Activision Publishing, Inc.

Activision Publishing, Inc. (“Activision”) is a leading international developer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision develops games based on both internally-developed and licensed intellectual property. Activision markets and sells games we develop and, through our affiliate label program, games developed by certain third-party publishers. We sell games both through retail channels and by digital download. Activision currently offers games that operate on the Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. (“Sony”) PlayStation 3 (“PS3”), Nintendo Co. Ltd. (“Nintendo”) Wii (“Wii”), and Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) Xbox 360 (“Xbox 360”) console systems; the Nintendo Dual Screen handheld game systems; the PC; and Apple iOS devices and other handheld and mobile devices.

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (“Blizzard”) is a leader in the subscription-based massively multi-player online role-playing game (“MMORPG”) category in terms of both subscriber base and revenues generated through its World of Warcraft® franchise, which it develops, hosts and supports.  Blizzard also develops, markets and sells role-playing action and strategy PC-based computer games, including games in the multiple-award winning Diablo® and StarCraft® franchises. In addition, Blizzard maintains a proprietary online-game related service, Battle.net®. Blizzard distributes its products and generates revenues worldwide through various means, including: subscriptions (which consist of fees from individuals playing World of Warcraft, prepaid cards and other value-added service revenues such as realm transfers, faction changes, and other character customizations within World of Warcraft gameplay); retail sales of physical “boxed” products; online download sales of PC products; and licensing of software to third-party or related party companies that distribute World of Warcraft, StarCraft® II and Diablo III.

Activision Blizzard Distribution

Activision Blizzard Distribution (“Distribution”) consists of operations in Europe that provide warehousing, logistical and sales distribution services to third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software, our own publishing operations, and manufacturers of interactive entertainment hardware.

Basis of Consolidation and Presentation

Activision Blizzard prepared the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission for interim reporting. As permitted under those rules and regulations, certain notes or other information that are normally required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted if they substantially duplicate the disclosures contained in the annual audited consolidated financial statements. The year-end condensed balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for fair statement of our financial position and results of operations in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been included in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts and operations of the Company. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from these estimates and assumptions.

The Company considers events or transactions that occur after the balance sheet date, but before the financial statements are issued, to provide additional evidence relative to certain estimates or to identify matters that require additional disclosures.

Results of Adjustment

We identified through our internal processes that, in previous years, we erroneously over-recognized revenue for a country in our Europe region. We performed an evaluation under SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 108 and concluded the effect of this error was immaterial to prior years’ financial statements as well as the projected full-year 2012 financial statements. As such, during the nine months ended September 30, 2012, we recorded an adjustment to reduce net revenues and operating income by $11 million in our consolidated statements of operations, and similarly reduced net revenues and income from operations before income tax expenses in our Blizzard segment, Europe region, and online subscriptions as presented in footnote 7 of the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements by $11 million.  There was no impact to operating cash flows. The adjustment increased the deferred revenues on our consolidated balance sheet and represents a correction of an error. The $11 million adjustment related to prior periods as follows: (i) approximately $1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2012; (ii) approximately $1 million for each quarter of 2011 (totaling approximately $4 million for the year ended December 31, 2011); (iii) $2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010; and (iv) approximately $4 million for periods prior to the year ended December 31, 2010. Net income decreased by approximately $9 million, or less than $0.01 earnings per basic and diluted share, as a result of recording this adjustment.

2.              Inventories, net

Our inventories, net consist of the following (amounts in millions):

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3.              Intangible assets, net

Intangible assets, net consist of the following (amounts in millions):

Amortization expense of intangible assets was $3 million and $7 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, respectively.  Amortization expense of intangible assets was $7 million and $22 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively.

At September 30, 2012, future amortization of definite-lived intangible assets is estimated as follows (amounts in millions):

4.              Income taxes

The income tax expense of $2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012 reflected an effective tax rate of 0.8%, which differed from the effective tax rate of 10.7% for the three months ended September 30, 2011 primarily due to a tax benefit resulting from a federal income tax audit settlement allocated to us in the three months ended September 30, 2012 by a subsidiary of Vivendi S.A. (“Vivendi”), as further discussed below. The effective tax rate of 0.8% for the three months ended September 30, 2012 differed from the statutory rate of 35.0% primarily due to the tax benefit resulting from the federal income tax audit settlement, foreign income taxes levied at relatively lower rates, the geographic mix of our income, and recognition of California research and development credits and federal domestic production deductions. The federal research credit expired on December 31, 2011 and, as of September 30, 2012, an extension of the credit had not been signed into law, so we have excluded the benefit from this tax credit in our income tax calculation for the three months ended September 30, 2012.

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For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the tax rate was based on our projected annual effective tax rate for 2012, and also included certain discrete tax items recorded during the period.  Our tax expense of $176 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 reflected an effective tax rate of 18.1%, which differed from the effective tax rate of 24.8% for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 primarily due to the tax benefit resulting from the federal income tax audit settlement allocated to us in the three months ended September 30, 2012.

As previously disclosed, on July 9, 2008, a business combination (“the Business Combination”) occurred amongst Vivendi, the Company and certain of their respective subsidiaries pursuant to which Vivendi Games, Inc. (“Vivendi Games”), then a member of the consolidated U.S. tax group of Vivendi’s subsidiary, Vivendi Holdings I Corp. (“VHI”), became a subsidiary of the Company.  As a result of the business combination, the favorable tax attributes of Vivendi Games, Inc. carried forward to the Company.  In late August 2012, VHI settled a federal income tax audit with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for the tax years ended December 31, 2002, 2003, and 2004.  In connection with the settlement agreement, VHI’s consolidated federal net operating loss carryovers were adjusted and allocated to various companies that were part of its consolidated group during the relevant periods.  This allocation resulted in a $132 million federal net operating loss allocation to Vivendi Games.  In September 2012, the Company filed an amended tax return for its December 31, 2008 tax year to utilize these additional federal net operating losses allocated as a result of the aforementioned settlement, resulting in the recording of a one-time tax benefit of $46 million.  Prior to the settlement, and given the uncertainty of the VHI audit, the Company had insufficient information to allow it to record or disclose any information related to the audit until the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

The overall effective income tax rate for the year could be different from the effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and will be dependent, in part, on our profitability for the remainder of the year. In addition, our effective income tax rates for the remainder of 2012 and future periods will depend on a variety of factors, such as changes in the mix of income by tax jurisdiction, applicable accounting rules, applicable tax laws and regulations, and rulings and interpretations thereof, developments in tax audits and other matters, and variations in the estimated and actual level of annual pre-tax income or loss.  Further, the effective tax rate could fluctuate significantly on a quarterly basis and could be adversely affected by the extent that income (loss) before income tax expenses (benefit) is lower than anticipated in foreign regions where taxes are levied at relatively lower statutory rates and/or higher than anticipated in the United States where taxes are levied at relatively higher statutory rates.

The IRS is currently examining the Company’s federal tax returns for the 2009 tax year. The Company also has several state and non-U.S. audits pending. Vivendi Games is no longer subject to U.S. federal income tax examinations for tax years before 2004 or state examinations for tax years before 2000. Although the final resolution of the Company’s global tax disputes is uncertain, based on current information, in the opinion of the Company’s management, the ultimate resolution of these matters are not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, liquidity or results of operations. However, an unfavorable resolution of the Company’s global tax disputes could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and results of operations in an interim period in which the matters are ultimately resolved.

5.              Software development and intellectual property licenses

The following table summarizes the components of our capitalized software development costs and intellectual property licenses (amounts in millions):

Amortization, write-offs and impairments of capitalized software development costs and intellectual property licenses are comprised of the following (amounts in millions):

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6.                 Fair value measurements

Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) literature regarding fair value measurements for financial and non-financial assets and liabilities establishes a three-level fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. This hierarchy requires entities to maximize the use of “observable inputs” and minimize the use of “unobservable inputs.” The three levels of inputs used to measure fair value are as follows:

·                  Level 1—Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

·                  Level 2—Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

·                  Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. This includes certain pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques that use significant unobservable inputs.

We measure the fair value of certain assets on a non-recurring basis, generally annually or when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable.

For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2012, there were no impairment charges related to assets that are measured on a non-recurring basis.

The tables below segregate all financial assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis and non-financial assets and liabilities that are not subject to recurring fair value measurement into the most appropriate level within the fair value hierarchy based on the inputs used to determine the fair value on September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011 (amounts in millions):

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