Mobile gaming remains one of the fastest-growing aspects of the video game industry. Not only do certain mobile-only games grow staggeringly popular and successful, but a significant number of the industry's most popular PC and console games are now receiving mobile game versions as well. It should be no surprise then to hear Activision Blizzard describe the mobile gaming market as "a real priority" that is the target of significant internal investment going forward.
Activision Blizzard discussed its perspective toward the mobile gaming market as part of a recent quarterly earnings report. COO Daniel Alegre didn't hold back in his vocal support of the mobile market, calling it the "ultimate driver of reach" due to a userbase of nearly 3 billion smartphones worldwide. As such, Activision Blizzard's ongoing mobile expansion efforts are receiving significant financial investment, as well as hundreds of new mobile developers. That's to say nothing of its acquisition efforts.
With this focus in mind, Alegre says that Activision Blizzard's goal for the mobile platform is to bring every one of its major franchises to mobile devices in the future. He then elaborates on that point, telling listeners that not bringing Activision Blizzard games to mobile would be a "disservice" to its community. Broad expansion to mobile platforms, according to Alegre, is a "crystal clear" opportunity.
Alegre believes that Activision Blizzard's intellectual property is "well-suited" for mobile devices and that it has broad worldwide appeal. However, he does acknowledge that certain franchises will be changed in order to fit better on the mobile medium. He describes how there could be "re-imaginations of an IP" for mobile devices, alongside games that are more similar to their PC/console counterparts. Exactly what kind of re-imaginations players can expect remains to be seen, but it sounds like Alegre is trying to set expectations early.
As examples of what Activision Blizzard is working towards, he refers to two different games. First, there's Call of Duty Mobile, which has become a huge success internationally. Second, he mentions Diablo Immortal, which is currently in development. Alegre also mentions that there are multiple Warcraft mobile games being worked on.
A big part of why the mobile market has become increasingly a priority for Activision Blizzard and other major publishers is the growth of the Chinese gaming market. Alegre calls attention to Call of Duty Mobile, which notably has seen impressive success in China. Similarly, Diablo Immortal seems to have a significant interest in the Chinese market. As the Chinese market grows, so does the mobile market, with Activision Blizzard close behind.
Source: GameSpot