Activision Blizzard Inc. on Thursday raised its revenue and earnings forecasts closer to Wall Street expectations, citing stronger worldwide demand for the latest editions of two of its top video game franchises.

The Santa Monica video games maker said the performance of “World of Warcraft 2″ and “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” are tracking ahead of its own expectations, though it did not supply revenue figures.

Activision was expecting adjusted first-quarter earnings of 2 cents per share on adjusted revenue of $525 million. That was lower than analysts’ expectations of adjusted revenue of $553 million and per-share earnings of 3 cents, according to Thomson Reuters surveys. Adjusted revenue takes into account online game revenue that is spread over several quarters.

The company, which is scheduled to report earnings on May 6, raised its fiscal-year per-share earnings forecast by 2 cents to 49 cents, and raised adjusted earnings by 2 cents to 72 cents per share. Analysts on average have been expecting 72 cents per share.

“It is always helpful to begin a year with great momentum; however, we remain cautious about the economy and consumer spending and the fact that the majority of our games are not expected to launch until the fall,” said Chief Executive Robert Kotick in a press release.

Shares were down 16 cents, or 1 percent, to $11.74 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.