Activision Blizzard and King’s revenue dropped for the previous quarter as the Candy Crush series continued to be the top-grossing franchise in the US.
This information was revealed via Activision Blizzard’s financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2019.
The Candy Crush franchise grew year-on-year, driven by the arrival of Candy Crush Friends Saga which launched October 2018 however King’s revenue fell by one per cent to $500 million.
According to Blizzard, the Candy Crush Saga - including Soda Saga, Jelly Saga and Friends Saga - had a monthly active user base of 247 million over the previous quarter. Activision Blizzard purchased King in 2016 for an all-cash deal of $5.9 billion.
Net bookings nearly doubled year-on-year with the number expected to accumulate at $6.33 billion for 2019 and $2.65 billion for the fourth quarter of 2019.
38 per cent revenue fall
Activision Blizzard struggled even more with revenue down to $394 million, showing a 38 per cent fall year-on-year.
Net revenue also decreased to $1.28 billion (15 per cent down) and net bookings declined to $1.21 billion (27 per cent down).
Although numbers across the board were down, the Californian-based firm did still make a profit with Call of Duty on mobile and console cited as big influences. Earnings per share equalled out at $0.26, a decrease of 24 per cent.
COD and WOW
“Our third quarter results exceeded our prior outlook for both revenue and earnings per share,” said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.
“Recent launches have enabled significant growth in the size of our audiences for our Call of Duty and World of Warcraft franchises.
"As we introduce mobile and free-to-play games based on our franchises we believe we can increase audience size, engagement and monetization across our wholly owned franchises," he continued.
“With a strong content pipeline and momentum in mobile, esports and advertising, we are confident we will remain a leader in connecting and engaging the world through epic entertainment.”
Amongst controversy at BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard revealed more details about the upcoming Diablo Immortal mobile game.
