Activision Blizzard Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Results - More Mobile Titles in Development

publicado hace 19 días por Archimtiros

fourth-quarter financial results conference callDiablo 2: Resurrectedmobile experiencesBlizzConlineextremely well receivedCall of Duty endowment$4 million pledgeinstitute a Rooney RuleIn a year filled with adversity our extraordinary employees were determined to provide connection and joy to our 400 million players around the world. They accomplished this as well as generating record financial results for our shareholders. Under difficult circumstances, but with the same conviction and focus, they will continue to do so in 2021.
- Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision BlizzardHighlightsActivision - 128 million monthly active users, up from 111 million in Q3

Call of Duty net bookings grew by a double digit percentage, unit sell-through grew sharply following the launch of Black Ops Cold War's first season, and has seen the highest number of battle passes consumed since the introduction of the new system in late 2019.

Call of Duty Mobile delivered its best quarter yet, with strong double-digit growth in net bookings. Monthly payers in the West reached the highest level yet, average spend per payer increased strongly, and the December launch in China quickly topped download charts.

Blizzard Entertainment - 29 million monthly active users, down from 30 million in Q3

World of Warcraft has seen strong enagement in Classic and Retail throughout 2020. Full year franchise net bookings grew 40% year-over-year, with sharp growth in the fourth quarter attributed to the sales of Shadowlands, reaching the highest level in nearly a decade. MAUs grew year-over-year for the sixth consecutive quarter.

Shadowlands player and engagement trends are stronger than levels typically seen at this point after an expansion launch.

Diablo Immortal has received very positive feedback and strong engagement metrics after the first stage of regional testing. More players will get to experience the game in further rounds of testing ahead of the launch planned for later this year.

BlizzConline will engage and celebrate the community, channeling the spirit of BlizzCon and sharing future plans for Blizzard franchises this February 19th and 20th.

Blizzard

Now, turning to Blizzard. Blizzard is committed to improving consistent innovation and content delivery for its dedicated players. World of Warcraft had a strong year, with net bookings growing over 40% year-over-year to the highest level in nearly a decade. Fourth quarter net bookings for the franchise grew by a double-digit percentage year-over-year, driven by strong sales of the Shadowlands expansion, subscriber growth and high participation in value-added services.

World of Warcraft reach expanded year-over-year for the sixth consecutive quarter, contributing to overall Blizzard MAUs of 29 million in Q4. The trends for reach and engagement after the launch of Shadowlands are even stronger than the levels we typically see at this stage after an expansion launch. With both the modern and the classic modes continuing to operate at global scale, Blizzard has more opportunity to delight and engage the World of Warcraft community than ever before.

Looking forward, the multiple Warcraft teams have an unwavering commitment to innovation and expansion for reach, engagement and player investment through more new content initiatives across platforms, positioning the franchise for further growth in 2021 and beyond. The Overwatch franchise continues to engage its community with in-game content and to celebrate its players in the Overwatch League, where teams are preparing for the start of the 2021 season in April.

And mobile remains a top priority at Blizzard, both to give existing fans new ways to engage and to allow new players to experience its franchises. Diablo Immortal concluded its first stage of regional testing with very positive player feedback, a lot of excitement about the depth and authenticity of this latest Diablo experience and strong engagement metrics. We look forward to getting the game in the hands of more players in further regional testing, ahead of a launch planned for later this year.

And the Blizzard team is looking forward to channeling the spirit of BlizzCon to engage and celebrate the community once again at BlizzConline on February 19 and 20 where they will share more about the plans for the franchises.

In the Diablo franchise, Diablo Immortal, our upcoming free-to-play mobile title, was extremely well-received during its regional testing and this has set the stage for the franchise to meaningfully expand its global reach. In addition to launching new Diablo content this year, our highly anticipated Diablo IV is on the horizon. As we execute on our Diablo pipeline, we expect the franchise to contribute meaningfully to our reach, engagement and .player investment growth in the coming quarters and years ahead.

In our Warcraft franchise, we intend to deliver more frequent premium content to sustain and expand the World of Warcraft community and we've made multiple mobile free-to-play Warcraft experiences and they're now in advanced development, based on our franchise's beloved IP. This will create opportunities for both existing players and new fans to experience the Warcraft universe in entirely new ways.

King - 240 million monthly active users, down from 249 million in Q3

Candy Crush showed strong growth with in-game spending per player and double-digit year-over-year growth for in-game net bookings in the fourth quarter. Candy Crush was once again the top grossing franchise in the U.S. app stores.

Farm Heroes and Bubble Witch grew net bookings, driven by live operations and seasonal events.

Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! planned for March will introduce fans to an entirely new Crash Bandicoot experience on mobile.

overDiablo 2: Resurrectedmobile projects in developmentcontinue to explore Classic nostalgiaBlizzConline

Comentarios

Inicia sesión para publicar un comentario Comentarios 47

12 3

Siguiente › Última »

Comentario de PannoneThis is great news! Happy to see that blizzard looks to have the same commitment to their games that I do Ha ha.Comentario de Sielinthhad to google what operating income really meant... fascinating reading

also I love the business metrics of "engagement". it's such a sweeping criteria that helps keep the numbers high

I see Diablo Immortals will help them reach their goal of having a billion users hehComentario de AkriasThe people that have been laid off in Versailles must be glad to read that...Comentario de MipsenHope one of the mobile games is for wow pet battleComentario de ShaggypawEngagement... ya because of slow loot and a pile of tacked on features that are time sinks.

Wow had become a huge time sink and less enjoyable for meComentario de Archimtiroshad to google what operating income really meant... fascinating reading

also I love the business metrics of "engagement". it's such a sweeping criteria that helps keep the numbers high

I see Diablo Immortals will help them reach their goal of having a billion users hehComentario de snackiesmoresI hope they put more effort into these new mobile games than they did in the god awful wow companion app..... maybe they can get some of those fancy mobile developers to make the wow companion app better (and for the love of god faster when switching toons).Comentario de HanatosPrepared for StarCraft mobile guys :)Comentario de MaficWhat are the possibilities for mobile WoW? The old companion app had the mobile AH but I don’t see that coming back. The current app has the mission/adventure table which is cool but I feel like there could be so much more. Just curious how you folks see it manifesting.Comentario de vindurzasay it with me now no good will come of thisComentario de SlyPenguin0Y'all can see how much money the F2P and mobile games make with their cash shops and lower development cost than WoW does in comparison. So when we get store mounts and WoW dev teams seem stretched thin, you know where that decision is coming from.Comentario de Elle11I have a really hard time believing that this is the highest level of player engagement since 2010/2011.Is that really true? If so, I have to think it is the pandemic. No hate to the current expansion and I always like to see that WoW is doing well, but I just have trouble believing this (having played every expansion, myself). Maybe someone can help me understand.Comentario de PotatoHamsterNice to see that the game is doing well, better than in a long time in fact.

I have a really hard time believing that this is the highest level of player engagement since 2010/2011.Is that really true? If so, I have to think it is the pandemic. No hate to the current expansion and I always like to see that WoW is doing well, but I just have trouble believing this (having played every expansion, myself). Maybe someone can help me understand.Comentario de GahGahRahRemovedComentario de ReallyAbigarThis is great news! Happy to see that blizzard looks to have the same commitment to their games that I do Ha ha.tinyIt shouldn't be down.Comentario de NokamiI have a really hard time believing that this is the highest level of player engagement since 2010/2011.Is that really true? If so, I have to think it is the pandemic. No hate to the current expansion and I always like to see that WoW is doing well, but I just have trouble believing this (having played every expansion, myself). Maybe someone can help me understand.Comentario de PotatoHamsterThis is great news! Happy to see that blizzard looks to have the same commitment to their games that I do Ha ha.tinyIt shouldn't be down.Comentario de sgaethemageWhy do we even care about this. Play the game if you enjoy it. Don’t play the game if you don’t. Why the $%^& does all this matter.Comentario de PotatoHamsterWhy do we even care about this. Play the game if you enjoy it. Don’t play the game if you don’t. Why the $%^& does all this matter.Comentario de WasselinFor as much as everyone likes to repeat the same joke ad nauseum the money in gaming is in mobile, so we can expect more and more emphasis on mobile games in the future.

12 3

Siguiente › Última »

« Publicación siguiente

Publicación anterior »

Activision Blizzard Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Results - More Mobile Titles in Development

Comentarios

Escribir un Comentario