Blizzard revenues drop to lowest point in 8 years
Blizzard Entertainment's quarterly revenues have dropped to the lowest point in nearly a decade as player counts also fall.
Blizzard's segment revenues have dropped to an all-time 8-year low as the developer gears up big projects like Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.
Activision-Blizzard's latest quarterly earnings show declines in key segments including Blizzard, who has reported the lowest revenues in nearly a decade.
According to data provided by the publisher and compiled by us, Blizzard Entertainment made $274 million revenues throughout Q1 2022, a 43% decline from last year.
This is Blizzard's lowest Q1 performance and lowest total quarterly revenues in the eight-year period from 2015 - 2022.
Blizzard Entertainment also delivered $53 million in operating profit down 73% year-over-year. This performance makes for a 19.3% operating margin.
There are multiple culprits for this Q1 2022 loss, including the sexual harrassment and discrimination lawsuit that broke out during mid-2021 and has taken a toll, the lack of new games, and steep competition from rivals, such as Bandai Namco who introduced the massively popular Elden Ring in February.
Activision says the drop was because of "product cycle timing for the Warcraft franchise."
Blizzard's monthly active users (MAUs) were also down to their lowest point since 2016.
As of Q1 2022, Blizzard had 22 million MAUs and accounts for just 6% of the company's total monthly user numbers (372 million).
The developer is currently working on multiple high-profile projects including:
- New World of Warcraft Dragonflight expansion
- Diablo 4
- Overwatch 2
- New IP
And is also working on a myriad of free-to-play mobile/PC games including:
- Diablo Immortal
- Two Warcraft titles