Since a few months, Activision Blizzard is at the heart of video game news. Whether in relation to its takeover by Microsoft several weeks ago or so various accusations of sexual harassment, the group is talking about him. All this news has obviously an impact on the company and in particular on its financial results.
A few days ago, Activision Blizzard has published its first quarter 2022 financial report and he’s not very good. If the figures are still astronomical, there is a significant drop, be it turnover, net revenue or even the number of players. Accounting 372 million players currently, the group recorded 435 million in the same period last year. This represents a drop of more than 14%. The story is the same for turnover which fell by 22%, from 2.28 billion dollars to 1.77 billion dollars.
All these figures are worrying for Activision Blizzard who sees a general decline in the popularity of its games and in particular for its flagship license, Call of Duty. The group says a drop in engagement for Warzone and it is perhaps for this reason thatActivision is developing Warzone 2to bring its players back to the game. In addition, with the formalization of the release of Modern Warfare 2 at the end of the year, the group wishes to returninto a new era of Call of Duty“. To be seen if he will succeed but the game should offer a whole new experience to the players and possibly help improve the financial results.
As for Blizzardthe results are also in decline but are due to an unfavorable product cycle. Several major releases are to be expected and the next one is coming soon with Diablo Immortal next June 2. All is not bad in these results since on the side of King, creator of Candy Crushall is well with a number of payers that has increased, as has the activity. Finally, we learn that the takeover of the group by Microsoft has been approved by the boards of directors. This transaction is expected to close on June 30, 2023, at the end of the second quarter.