Activision Quarterly Results Reveal Blizzard, King Software Doing Well As Call Of Duty Sees Decline In Engagement And Sales

gameinformer.com:

Hot on the heels of quarterly results from the likes of EA, Nintendo, and PlayStation, Activision Blizzard has released its own financial results. 

Usually, these results are released over an investor call but this time around, the publisher released its results in a press release. It cites the ongoing transaction happening for Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard as the reason why the information had to be released in this manner. Nonetheless, the results reveal that Blizzard’s Warcraft, Warcraft-related, and Diablo franchises are doing well. King’s mobile software is doing great, too, but Call of Duty took a hit this year. 

“Call of Duty net bookings on console and PC declined year-over-year in the fourth quarter, reflecting lower premium sales for Call of Duty: Vanguard versus the year ago title and lower engagement in Call of Duty: Warzone,” Activision Blizzard’s press release reads. “Fourth quarter in-game player investment on console and PC remained well above the level seen prior to the March 2020 launch of Warzone.” 

The press release also confirms something mostly widely-known to people that keep up with Call of Duty: this year’s annual release is being developed by Infinity Ward, the team behind 2019’s Modern Warfare. Activision says Infinity Ward is working on “the most ambitious plan in franchise history, with industry-leading innovation and a broadly appealing franchise setting.” 

However, Call of Duty mobile saw net bookings grow year-over-year in the fourth quarter, driven by distribution of the title in China. Activision also says it is continuing to expand its studios and development resources worldwide to continue forward with plans for “ongoing live operations and new, unannounced titles in the