Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind gaming juggernauts like Call of Duty and Diablo, has disclosed that it lost millions of active users compared to this time last year across its various franchises. However, despite lowering player count numbers, Activision also stated that it had added 25% more developers to its multiple studios year-over-year.
The Call of Duty publisher has been in a tough spot lately, frequently being the source of controversy and often placed in a negative light as more details emerge about the company's inner workings. Almost exactly one year ago, Activision Blizzard was sued by the state of California over a multitude of workplace violations which eventually spawned the unionization efforts of Raven Software QA workers. Amid a major lawsuit and ongoing worker strikes, Microsoft announced its plan to acquire the company and bring its many studios under the Xbox brand. As of now, Activision’s future is uncertain as its deal with Microsoft is still pending.
In its most recent earnings call, Activision announced it beat its projected revenue expectations, earning $1.64 billion against the expected $1.59 billion. However, despite beating revenue predictions, the company noted a downward trend in its active user count throughout its most recent quarter and since last year. From June 30, 2021, to June 30, 2022, Activision's active player count has gone from 408 million to 361 million players. This metric counts anyone who has played an Activision game throughout that period of time. Additionally, from March 30, 2022, to June 30, Activision lost 11 million players alone. In light of that, however, Activision Blizzard does appear to be investing in its studios with a sizable 25% increase in its developer pool year-over-year.
There exists a multitude of factors that could likely be the cause of Activision’s lowered active user count. Call of Duty Vanguard, a pillar in sales and players for the company, sold less than the previous two entries in the series and wasn’t as well received as its predecessors either. Game output by Activision has also been relatively low recently. Moreover, many of the markets in which Activision is quite prominent are gradually coming out of lockdowns, meaning that people are beginning to allocate their entertainment budgets to things outside of video games.
However, Activision does seem to be gearing up for a solid end to the year. The publisher currently has Overwatch 2 targeting an October 4 release date, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launching shortly after on October 28. Additionally, Blizzard’s next big ARPG, Diablo 4, is set to launch next year, but players could have their hands on the game before the year’s end if beta testing gets underway before 2023.
Source: Activision