Call of Duty's new feature isn't a Fortnite killer, analyst says (ATVI)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, the Activision Blizzard video game scheduled for release in October, will include a new battle royale mode.
Oppenheimer doesn't see that taking away from Fortnite, which appeals to a younger, broader audience.
Instead, the new Call of Duty feature is better positioned to attract hardcore fans of first-person shooters.
Watch Activision Blizzard trade in real-time here.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, the much-anticipated Activision Blizzard video game scheduled for release on October 12, is likely to be a big hit given the franchise's large following and improvements on weaponry. The game will also have a battle royale mode, a game type recently popularized by Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, but it is unlikely to have the same broad appeal as Fortnite.

"We believe the game is not positioned to appeal to wider, younger players like Fortnite is," the Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz wrote in a note to clients. "Instead, we believe this game is built to be the best-in-class hardcore FPS," or first-person shooter.

Epic Games' Fortnite shot up in popularity in recent months, capturing audiences with its battle royale mode and its "freemium" business model that allows the game to run 100% free on consoles. In March alone, Fortnite raked in $223 million in revenue across all platforms, according to the research firm Superdata.

Rather than competing head-to-head with Fortnite for young players, Uerkwitz believes, the new Call of Duty feature is better suited to gain market share from games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Siege, PlayerUnknown's Battleground, and Battlefield, which are more popular with experienced players. Black Ops 4, in his view, will be more attractive to hardcore fans of first-person shooters with its "deeper/flexible load-outs and tactical game play."

Activision Blizzard also said the PC version of Black Ops 4 would run on Battle.net, an online gaming, social media, and digital-distribution platform. Battle.net supports games such as Overwatch, Starcraft: Remastered, and Destiny 2. The push should better expand the Call of Duty player base on the PC as that version is positioned to make use of Battle.net's social features and tools, Uerkwitz said.

Activision Blizzard is up 11% this year.

ATVI