Activision Blizzard is currently proving that their plans for mobile games can really pay off. The new title Call of Duty: Mobile is achieving all that Activision Blizzard has aimed for over the years. Meanwhile, Diablo Immortal was criticized at BlizzCon 2018.
What is Activision Blizzard’s plan? The publisher’s stated plan is to bring their major brands to mobile. This aims to reach smartphone users worldwide and tap into new markets.
This is how it was received: Activision Blizzard has been sharing this plan with investors in financial reports for years. However, this did not interest many gamers.
For the first time, players were truly confronted with the plan at BlizzCon 2018: There, Blizzard introduced “Diablo Immortal”, a mobile spin-off of the major Diablo brand. The reaction from players was extremely negative. They were expecting Diablo 4.
Call of Duty Mobile 2019 extremely successful
How is Activision Blizzard proving that the plan is correct now? In 2019, the first game that follows this “pattern” has been released. With Call of Duty: Mobile, the first major brand has appeared. The release of the mobile shooter is now 2 months old and the numbers show how successful the plan is.
According to the site Sensor Tower:
- Call of Duty: Mobile has been downloaded 172 million times, mostly in the USA, India, and Brazil
- the mobile shooter has earned nearly $87 million – mostly in the USA, Japan, and the UK
5 ways in which Call of Duty Mobile fulfills the “plan”
What Activision Blizzard has achieved with Call of Duty Mobile:
- They have proven that they can successfully bring a large, traditional gaming brand to mobile
- They have penetrated “new markets,” such as India, where no PC or console game could establish itself before
- they have proven that they can monetize a mobile game. However, this money comes from “older markets,” primarily the USA, Japan, and Europe
- they have created a game that can compete with the “new hot stuff,” like Fortnite and PUBG. Because especially PUBG Mobile has already gained a significant lead in India – which Activision Blizzard could not like
- and they have demonstrated that a mobile game can work when developed with a Chinese partner. CoD Mobile comes from Tencent, Diablo Immortal is supposed to be developed together with NetEase
Activision Blizzard aims to have 1 billion players in 5 years. They seem to be on a better path than expected.
Activision Blizzard has also calmed the angry PC and console gamers: At the Blizzcon 2019, Diablo 4 was presented.
The question now is only when Diablo Immortal will finally be released. According to Blizzard, it is still “fully in production”.
