Activision has just detailed the highlights of its year ahead, as part of an investor conference following the presentation of their impressive financial results. And guess what – it’s more Guitar Hero, more Tony Hawk and more Call of Duty. But this is no bad thing, right?

First things first, then, and Guitar Hero has been a massive hit for the company. 19 million games have been sold since the franchise launched and this has rather fuelled their appetite for more. To which end Activision is looking to expand product development to its worldwide studios and to triple the number of GH variants in 2009. Furthermore Activision CEO, Mike Griffiths, sees the license as being “extremely expandable”, meaning that it might not necessarily be limited to guitars forever, and promises that “We expect a leap forward in innovation for our holiday launch.” Bring it on, Mikey!

Next up the Tony Hawk brand which, of course, has taken something of a battering at the hands of EA’s infinitely superior SKATE recently. It seems that lessons have been learned, though. The license is being rebuilt from the ground-up and Activision has two TH games in development – a DS title developed by Vicarious Visions which will launch this year and an “ambitious” console game to follow next year. Indeed, Activision is “...very bullish on the kind of innovation it will bring.” Is that fighting talk? Yeah, probably.

Finally Call of Duty. And you’ll no doubt be glad to hear that the next iteration is in the works and on track to launch this fiscal year – i.e any time between now and next April. The action takes place in what is enticingly described as “a new theatre of war” (the Franco-Prussian conflict of 1870, anyone?) and the game will launch on all major formats, including Wii, DS and – gasp – Playstation 2. Perhaps even more intriguing than all of that the Call of Duty game engine is being put to use in Activision’s first James Bond title, which is set to be released alongside this year’s blockbuster, The Quantum of Solace. Can’t wait!