For the first fiscal quarter ending March 31st 2010, Activision Blizzard has reported revenue of $1.3 billion (based on GAAP; $714 million on non-GAAP), on profits of $381 million – doubling earnings during the same period last year, and handily beating analyst expectations by some margin.

Activision pointed to strong sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s Stimulus Package downloadable content (DLC), which managed to sell through one million units during its first 24 hours of availability on Xbox LIVE, and sold 2.5 million units in its first week, priced at $15.

Addressing (and teasing) future plans for the Call of Duty franchise, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said:

“We have the potential to drive the breadth of audience, increase the value-added services we can provide our players and grow our returns to shareholders. As a preview, expect additional exciting content for Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops that will surprise our millions or players.

“The popular global fantasy of being a soldier is allowing us to enter new geographies,” Kotick continued, “leveraging… [Blizzard’s] expertise… creating content for audiences that have to date have only been satisfied by Blizzard games. Soon we’ll announce our plans for both China and Korea.”

Impressive sales of the How to Train Your Dragon movie tie-in videogame in the first quarter were also noted, while the company’s evergreen World of Warcraft continues to line the publisher’s coffers.

Kotick commented how, as of the first fiscal quarter, the company has provided shareholders with a 28 percent return, and continues to find ways “to add profitable franchises that allow us to increase our operating margins,” referencing the recent announcement of the Activision/Bungie publishing and distribution deal.

“This relationship will allow Activision to broaden its product portfolio with exciting new games and underscores our commitment to partnering with the best creative talent in the industry,” said Kotick.

Commenting on the recent string of departures from Activision’s Infinity Ward studio, and the publisher’s removal of the studio’s heads Vince Zampella and Jason West, Kotick said:

“The decision to terminate the two executives was not done lightly, and was not done to deprive them of their bonuses. Nor was it done without a great deal of deliberation about the consequences. We felt we had no choice but to terminate the Infinity Ward executives. We did this to protect the company’s assets and the interest of our shareholders.”

“I personally considered [West and Zampella] friends,” Kotick continued. “Their conduct was a compromise of our friendship, which was equally disappointing.”

According to Kotick, a total of 35 employees have left Infinity Ward since the beginning of March, “and it is likely that a few more people will leave as well,” but with three studios and 325 developers working on the Call of Duty brand as a whole, the franchise is in good hands, and the opportunity to work on a game in the series, says Kotick, is a “coveted” one.

“Despite the frustrations… we remain the top destination for development talent in the video game industry,” Kotick said.