Activision earned more money in 2016 than ever before. This is mainly due to Blizzard with WoW and Overwatch.
Yesterday, Activision held its earnings call. They announced record numbers. Compared to the previous year, revenue increased by 42%. $6.61 billion was generated. The success is mainly in digital business, which accounts for 74% of total revenue.
Overwatch has 25 million players, a huge success
A large part of the profits comes from Blizzard and here from the games Overwatch and World of Warcraft.
Overwatch currently has 25 million registered players. It is the game from Blizzard that reached this mark worldwide the fastest.
In the 4th quarter, Overwatch had more active players than ever before. Especially the seasonal events are performing really well. When an event is running, it drives participation up.
World of Warcraft has recovered from Warlords of Draenor
In World of Warcraft, Legion and the better content supply are noticeable. In the 4th quarter, the playtime in WoW was higher than in any non-launch quarters of the last 4 years.
Now in the fourth quarter, more was played than in the third quarter, the launch quarter. Legion was released on August 30.
WoW had 20% more active users in the 4th quarter of 2016 than at the same time last year. Over the year, 10% more players were active in WoW in 2016 than in the previous year.
Hearthstone also grew by 20% in 2016 in active players.
Blizzard is simply successful, but the other games besides WoW are in focus
My MMO says: The numbers for WoW are not as impressive as they sound at first glance, because 2015 was a weak year with a tired Warlords of Draenor.
There are fewer new record values, but a return to “normality” after two rather weak expansions with Mists of Pandaria and Warlords of Draenor. Still, a nice success.
It shows that weak expansions have not caused lasting damage and that players are returning with Legion and have also stayed in the last months. This is a good sign for the MMORPG oldie.
That Overwatch is a hit has been heard enough. But the fact that it is such a damn big hit is clear from such record numbers.
Hearthstone also seems unstoppable and simply keeps getting bigger – and that at a damn high level.
Recently, you can now purchase other services in Blizzard games with WoW gold.
