Why In-Game Revenue Is Key For Publishers Like Activision, Electronic Arts

Netflix Inc NFLX is akin to a buffet where consumers pay one price regardless of how much they consume.

The comparison is only "partly true" for most video game publishers, Wedbush managing director and equity analyst Michael Pachter said Monday on Benzinga's PreMarket Prep show. 

Pachter's Take On Gaming Stocks 

Video game users increasing their screen time with a game like "Call of Duty" are more likely spending more money on in-game items, Pachter said.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. ATVI offers a free-to-play version, but the user can buy various items like Redeploy Tokens, which bring a fallen teammate back to life, the analyst told the PreMarket Prep hosts.

The mobile version of "Call of Duty" is on track to collect $300 to $400 million in revenue, a "gigantic" figure, he said. 

"So the right way to think about the publishers is to look at their revenue and look at the portion of their revenue that comes from in-game spending," Pachter said.

"For Activision that's about two-thirds; for Electronic Arts Inc. EA and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc TTWO, that's about half."

Sees Slow Uptake In Esports 

The video game publishers with the largest exposure to in-game revenue will "benefit the most" from the stay-at-home phenomenon, Pachter said. Other "massive beneficiaries" of this trend include Zynga Inc ZNGA and Glu Mobile Inc. GLUU, he said. 

The esports category is a whole different one, and more like a "generational phenomenon" that requires many years to take off, the Wedbush analyst said. "Come back to me in 20 years when your kids are our age and their kids are watching esports and then I think it will be a phenomenon," he said.

Related Link: Making Most Of Lockdowns, Facebook Gaming Launches Earlier Than Planned

Watch the full interview with Pachter in the clip below, or listen to the podcast here.

PreMarket Prep is a daily trading show hosted by prop trader Dennis Dick and former floor trader Joel Elconin. You can watch PreMarket Prep live every day from 8-9 a.m. ET here. The replay can be found on Benzinga's YouTube channel, and the podcast is on iTunes, Google Play, Soundcloud, Stitcher and Tunein.