Industry giant Activision Blizzard has enjoyed a tremendous financial start to 2020, it seems.
The company, formed in 2008 as the result of a merger between both parties, collectively owns some of the most successful video game franchises both current and past, including (and certainly not limited to) Overwatch, Hearthstone, Call of Duty and Candy Crush Saga, the latter of which was acquired in 2016 with the purchase of mobile developer King.
A recurring theme among all of those mentioned above, of course, is the presence of microtransactions, which continues to prove itself a substantial moneymaker, despite the term’s growing stigmatism among consumers in recent years. As per the company’s latest financial results covering Q1 2020 (ending March 31st, 2020), players of said titles spent an eye-watering total of $956 million on so-called “in-game net bookings,” in the first three months of 2020 compared with $794 in same time period 12 months prior.
While the strong growth is likely a result of numerous factors – including the recently released Call of Duty: Warzone contributing a large sum on its own – Activision Blizzard is well aware of the role played by COVID-19 in people’s gaming habits, with millions still affected by stringent lockdown measures turning to online games and other similar experiences as a means of passing the time while stuck indoors.
Whether the upward trend in microtransaction revenue will continue for the foreseeable remains to be seen, of course, though with Overwatch 2, Call of Duty 2020 and potentially other unannounced projects on course to arrive within the next 12 months, the future’s looking bright indeed for one of the industry’s most major players.
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