In spite of a "challenging overall software market", Activision Blizzard still manages to beat projections to achieve profitability and a slight growth to its U.S. marketshare for its third fiscal quarter ending September 30th.

The company's revenues during the third quarter slid slightly year-on-year to $703 million USD, but beat its own projection of $680 million USD.  Activision Blizzard has also managed to score profit of $15 million USD for the third quarter, a huge improvement from the $108 million USD quarterly loss posted last year.  Spurred by such results, Activision believes it remains on track for revenue of $4.05 billion USD by the end of the 2009 calendar year.

CEO Bobby Kotick attributes this turnaround in profit to the performance of its Guitar Hero, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and Call of Duty franchises.  Blizzard's World of Warcraft also managed to deliver the goods during the third quarter.

Activision is certainly not unaware of the concerns raised elsewhere regarding the sustainability of its music game business, especially after the lukewarm reception to DJ Hero at launch.  Sales for music peripheral bundles in North America are also stabilizing, as fans who already have the relevant instrument controllers increasingly opt for software-only packages.  CFO Thomas Tippl not only believes things will be just fine, but in fact predicts even better holiday season sales for its lineup of music games than last year.  The company continues to count on an engaged fanbase on the PS3 and Xbox 360 to help carry its music games through.