Activision Blizzard’s Q1 2022 results allowed me to update my monthly active user count tracking file for different entities, namely Activision, Blizzard and King. If the situation is correct at Activision and King has risen again, this is not the case with Blizzard, which has the lowest number of players recorded in our surveys, which is 22 million.
At the house of Activision Blizzard, and even when revenues decline, we know that the first quarter of the year is rarely the best. In terms of the number of players, we feel that Activision is still reliant on the success of Call of Duty. However, there has been a steady decline since last year.
There’s nothing wrong with that as there were still 100 million monthly active users in the first quarter, but there’s no doubt that teams are working to offer games that will change the trend.
On the side of king, and while far from 2016 numbers, the company is surprisingly strong and still popular with its fans. It even has the luxury of doing better than in the last quarter of 2021 by returning 250 million monthly active players. The developer of Candy Crush and newer Crash Bandicoot: On the Run is in good shape and it doesn’t look like it will stop any hour.
Blizzard, on the other hand, is not in good shape. As the graph below shows, the fall was painful and we went from 46 million users in Q3 2017 to just 22 million in Q1 2022. If World of Warcraft continues to be very profitable, the rest of the catalog is aging and finally at the end of the year owes his salvation to a Diablo 2 Resurrected whose success is likely to exceed expectations.
However, Blizzard will see the end of the tunnel thanks to releases that will take place in the coming months. The first comes to Diablo Immortal whose release date is set for June 2 on Android, iOS and … open beta on PC. And yes, Blizzard is finally cracking and we can only congratulate the developers.
The first trials of Diablo Immortal, which have now been back for more than a year, made it possible to discover a game in the Diablo line, exciting with lots of good ideas. With over 30 million people registered, MMARPG could be a huge hit.
This Tuesday, April 26, will also mark the arrival of another highly anticipated game: Overwatch 2. The first phase of external testing will launch and we can expect to see the game come to the shelves by the end of the year. Granted, Activision Blizzard talked about a postponement of the game a few months ago, but I remain convinced that this is an announcement effect and that we hope to see the game in 2022.
In a year, we are entitled to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. A new expansion for WoW will always have a positive impact on Blizzard’s finances and number of players, and it should be no different, especially given the features that make some players spit, though if Blizzard seems to be hiding some under the pedal.
Closer to home, the Warcraft franchise will also be in the spotlight for a few days. Blizzard will definitely reveal this warcraft mobile game in May and we can’t wait to see what society has in store for us, and especially what the state of the game is right now. We remember that Diablo Immortal was announced in 2018 and has been almost 4 years on players ’smartphones and tablets. Hopefully this Warcraft Mobile doesn’t suffer the same delays.
Although Diablo 4 far too far, it’s a game whose potential is unforgettable. This alone can generate huge sales. However, having to wait until 2023, there is no doubt.
We’ll end with the possible surprises that Blizzard can reserve for us. This is the case with new survival game announced last January, but we’re also wondering if the company doesn’t have one StarCraft project in boxes … and so on.
