Activision's Call of Duty series targets Gamescom

Activision is using Germany's Gamescom as an opportunity to show off new mulitplayer options available in its next Call of Duty game

Video games maker Activision Publishing arrives at the industry's biggest European event - Gamescom in Cologne, Germany - from a position of strength.

Its first and third-person shooter franchise, Call of Duty, continues to blast its way to success: The Modern Warfare 3 sequel has been one of the top-selling games since its November launch and its online service, CoD: Elite has attracted more than 12 million registered users.

The firm is showing off the series' next title, Black Ops 2, and a version for the Sony Vita handheld console at the event. It is also about to launch a free-to-play edition in China which will charge users for weapons and other upgrades.

Its Skylanders games targeted at younger children have also proven to be a hit. The firm has sold tens of millions of add-on toys which offer new content when they are placed into a RFID (radio-frequency identification) reader attached to a console.

They have proved so popular that the firm recently boasted that the characters had overtaken Star Wars to become the best-selling action figures in the US and Europe.

Despite all this, doubts remain. The firm remains a relatively small player when it comes to smartphone games; Vivendi has been exploring a sale of its stake in parent company Activision Blizzard, which could prove a distraction; and some critics claim the company is over-reliant on sequels.

Mr Hirshberg says both he and his children are "big gamers"

Ahead of Gamescom, Activision Publishing's chief executive Eric Hirshberg, spoke to the BBC:

Your big focus at this event is the new Call of Duty titles. Some analysts have questioned if there will still be the same appetite for the new games. Is that a worry?

The free-to-play business model is a hot topic right now, and your firm is pursuing the strategy in China with CoD. Which of your other titles would you be willing to experiment with?

So why adopt the strategy in China?

Sales of Skylanders action figures have helped create a new revenue stream for the company

Activision hasn't been a big player when it comes to the smartphone market - though last week's opening of your new mobile games studio in Leeds points to change. Why have you been slower than competitors such as Electronic Arts?

So, do you think this will become more of your focus than the Sony Playstation Vita and Nintendo 3DS handhelds?

Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified may boost demand for Sony's Playstation Vita

One of the other trends catching attention has been the number of developers who have raised cash and built customer excitement through crowd funding platforms like Kickstarter. Are there lessons from that which Activision can take on board?

Inxile raised $2.9m (£1.8m) via Kickstarter to make Wasteland 2

Further down the line you have Halo creator Bungie's much anticipated new game. How is it progressing?

There has been a mixed reaction to games' use of motion sensors

You have had success with the Skylanders toys. But other efforts to integrate new types of hardware with games - such as motion sensors -have sometimes been dismissed as gimmicky. What lessons have you learned?

Are all the reports and rumours of a sale of Activision Blizzard proving a distraction?

Skylanders Giants will test its audience's appetite for a sequel when it goes on sale in October

Finally, we're heading towards the key Christmas selling season. Apart from Activision's titles which are you, as a gamer, most looking forward to?