Activision Blizzard has performed well in mobile in their first quarter financials, as King sees another record quarter.
In general, Activision Blizzard has seen positive financials, with net revenue up to $2.3bn from $1.7bn last year. The financials included general indicators of growth with King’s revenue for the quarter growing 8% year-over-year. With in-game net bookings increasing by 11% year-over-year and attributed mainly to the Candy Crush All Stars tournaments, a heavily promoted competitive tournament for players.
The growth of mobile net bookings by the double-digits was also attributed strongly to Activision Blizzard’s big mobile title last year, Diablo Immortal. The game generated massive revenue when it was released despite an initial delay and some controversy over in-game monetisation.
CEO of Activision Blizzard Bobby Kotick commented, “In our 33rd year, Activision Blizzard is performing exceptionally well. Every one of our key intellectual properties continues to grow year-over-year, with Call of Duty once again a key driver of growth. Mobile net bookings grew double digits including another record quarter for King. Pre-sales for Diablo IV are strong.
All this and Aquiblizz comments too
Commenting on the UK CMA's recent attempts to block the proposed takeover deal by Microsoft he added, "None of this would be possible without our people, who deliver excellence for our players every single day. We remain confident that our deal with Microsoft benefits competition, consumers, and job creation in markets around the world, especially in the UK. The CMA’s report today does not reflect these realities, and we will work aggressively with Microsoft to reverse it on appeal.”
The focus on games such as Call of Duty may also prove to be an issue in regards to the Activision Blizzard deal, as it’s importance has been somewhat downplayed in recent comments but it’s very much credited as a major part of the business here. They also note that King has had difficulties with partner networks in advertising, with ad revenue falling, even as the company invests further in its offerings on this front.
Overall it appears to mainly be (highly profitable) business as usual at Activision Blizzard. There are certainly no signs of any unravelling anytime soon, and it seems that hope springs eternal (or should that be immortal?) that Microsoft’s acquisition will complete.
One thing. The ongoing confidence in the deal completing does rather raise questions of just how the industry would react if it were to fall apart, especially with so much promised in official releases such as this.
