Santa Monica, CA – June 16, 2015 – Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), for the first time on next-generation consoles is delivering hands-on gameplay across all of its franchises at the 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3 Expo) taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 16-18.
Starting today, June 16, the company will debut the highly-anticipated follow up to the most played series in Call of Duty® history – Call of Duty®: Black Ops III, while showcasing a completely re-imagined Guitar Hero with true, breakthrough innovation in Guitar Hero® Live and GHTV, the world’s first playable music video network. Additionally, Skylanders® returns this year bringing a new category of toys to life – vehicles. Skylanders® SuperChargers expands the franchise’s signature gameplay with an entirely new way for fans to experience the magic of Skylands. Show attendees will also be able to play the next evolution of Destiny, The Taken King, which is the first major expansion for the franchise, featuring a new story campaign and quests, new enemies to fight, new locations to explore, new Strikes and Crucible maps, and an all-new Raid.
“This slate is built on innovation, creativity and quality, so it was an easy choice to deliver a fully hands-on experience this year at E3,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. “Call of Duty: Black Ops III pushes the most played series in Call of Duty history to a new level; Skylanders SuperChargers delivers a completely new way to play the most popular kids game on the planet; Destiny: The Taken King adds an entirely new saga to the #1 top-selling new video game IP of 2014 in North America and Europe, and Guitar Hero Live brings the iconic franchise back to a new generation of players with breakthrough innovation. And there’s no better way to show people what we’re talking about than to let them play.”
*According to the NPD Group, GfK and Chart-track
Activision’s E3 Slate Includes:
Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Developed by award-winning developer Treyarch, Call of Duty: Black Ops III redefines how Call of Duty is played. The game is set in the year 2065, where bio augmentation and Cybernetic enhancements have given rise to a new breed of Black Ops soldier. Through Direct Neural Interface (DNI) technology, players are now connected to the intelligence grid and their fellow operatives during battle. This elite squad consists of men and women who have enhanced their combat capabilities to fight faster, stronger, and smarter. Black Ops III also offers the deepest, most rewarding multiplayer ever offered in Call of Duty, and, a mind-blowing Call of Duty Zombies experience that, for the first time, features its own XP progression system. Call of Duty: Black Ops III is in development for the PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and PC; a PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 version are also in development. Call of Duty: Black Ops III is not yet rated by the ESRB. For more information, visit: www.callofduty.com, www.youtube.com/callofduty or follow @CallofDuty on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This follows the announcement from Sony PlayStation and Activision that starting with Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Call of Duty DLC map packs will debut first on PlayStation, and this year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III Beta will launch first on PlayStation 4 in August.
Guitar Hero Live – The pop culture phenomenon that introduced a new way to interact with music is back with the all-new Guitar Hero Live, featuring breakthrough innovations that will re-ignite your dreams of becoming a rock star. Developed by FreeStyleGames, the studio behind the critically-acclaimed DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2, Guitar Hero Live introduces two powerful ways to play, including GH Live, a first-person point of view where you are up on stage as the star of the show, and GHTV, the world’s first playable music video network.
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GH Live is a live-action experience that delivers the full emotional roller coaster of being on stage and performing in a real band, in front of real crowds, who dynamically react to how well or poorly you play. As the lead guitarist, you play an array of songs in a variety of venues, ranging from the smallest club stage to the massive main stage of an outdoor festival. GHTV is a 24-hour, always-on mode that lets fans play along to a continually-updated collection of official music videos – across a wide variety of genres – from the newest releases to favorite hits. Fans can pick from multiple channels and themed shows, discovering new songs as they play, and can also choose songs to play on-demand. In GHTV, fans can also play with their friends in the same room or against players from around the world, while completing challenges along the way for sweet rewards. Guitar Hero Live will be available October 20, 2015, and on October 23 in Europe, on the PlayStation®4 system, PlayStation®3 system, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii U™ system and select mobile devices to be announced soon. The game is rated “T” for Teen (Lyrics). Through a one-of-a-kind partnership, fans can pre-order their copy at select retailers worldwide and get access to bonus content from multi-platinum artist Avenged Sevenfold, which includes premium shows, custom note highways and more. Visit http://www.guitarhero.com/bonus for more details. For more information about Guitar Hero Live, please visit http://www.guitarhero.com, www.youtube.com/guitarhero or follow @guitarhero on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Destiny – From Bungie, and Activision comes Destiny: The Taken King, a major expansion and by far the largest addition to the Destiny universe yet. Featuring a new story campaign and quests, new enemies to fight, new locations to explore, new Strikes and Crucible maps, and an all-new Raid, Destiny: The Taken King will put player’s skills to the ultimate test. To stand up to the challenge, players will have access to three new devastating Guardian subclasses, and a massive arsenal of weapons, armor, and gear. The game will be available for the PlayStation®4 system, PlayStation®3 system, Xbox One, and Xbox 360. At launch PlayStation® gamers will also get access to a host of additional content for The Taken King, including a Strike, a Crucible map, three sets of gear and an exotic weapon, exclusive until Fall 2016. For more information, visit www.DestinyTheGame.com. For exclusive updates, follow the official Destiny social channels at www.facebook.com/DestinyTheGame and @DestinyTheGame on Twitter, and interact directly with the developers at www.Bungie.net.
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Skylanders SuperChargers – Rev your engines! Skylanders®, the #1 kids’ console franchise worldwide(1) is taking to Land, Sea and Air with Skylanders SuperChargers this fall. Skylanders SuperChargers is an unprecedented high-octane, action-adventure videogame where fans can speed across Skylands’ roads in vehicular combat, race down roaring rapids and engage in aerial dogfights as they barrel-roll through enemy swarms. The new game features a brand-new class of heroes, called SuperChargers who are distinct with fresh moves, powerful attacks and all-new weapons. The trailblazing vehicles-to-life innovation of the game is realized when players take helm as Skylanders of powerful, tricked-out land, sea and sky vehicles. Not only are the vehicles playable via the Portal of Power® in the game, but also many feature moving parts, making them fun to play with outside of the game. Portal Masters will also have the ability to customize all vehicles in-game with super cool modifications and upgradeable weapons.
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Additionally, Activision and Nintendo announced a landmark creative collaboration today that brings major star power to Skylanders SuperChargers with the introduction of iconic Nintendo characters to the game – Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser. Each character will have their own signature vehicles and will be available exclusively in Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Packs for the Nintendo platforms. Skylanders SuperChargers will be available on Xbox One and Xbox 360, PlayStation®4 system, PlayStation®3 system, iPad and Nintendo’s Wii U™ system. A different and unique adventure will be made available on Nintendo’s Wii™ system and the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system. The game will be available on September 20 in North America, September 24 in Australia/New Zealand; and on September 25 in Europe.For more information, visit: www.skylanders.com, www.youtube.com/skylandersgame or follow @SkylandersGame on Twitter and Facebook or @SkylandersTheGame onInstagram.