Activision Blizzard's latest financial report revealed over $1.2 billion in revenue from microtransactions alone between the months of July and September. The company saw total revenue of $1.95 billion for those three months – making in-game purchases a driving force for its shareholders.
Growth for Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare are the two big contributing factors during the summer months spike in revenue. Activision said that microtransactions from these titles were four times higher than last year. It also helped that Modern Warfare's first-year sales were the highest in franchise history, providing it with a massive playerbase to entice with in-game purchases.
Compared to July through September of 2019, this year's revenue is up 69%, as Activision Blizzard didn't even crack $1 billion back then.
Both Call of Duty games offer players a wide variety of cosmetic items for purchase using real cash. There's also a premium battle pass system, providing you with further incentive to stay glued to your screen and push towards the next rank and unlockable content. The franchise recently moved away from loot boxes, a strategy that seems to be paying off. EA is currently embroiled in a legal battle with Ksa – Netherlands Gaming Authority – over the use of loot boxes in its games. The same can't be said of Activision Blizzard, which opted to switch to a Battle Pass system around the time of Modern Warfare's release.
World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Candy Crush are also mentioned in the report, but no specifics are given about the three games or their respective revenue streams. It is mentioned that pre-sales for Shadowlands are outperforming prior expansions, and it appears Activision Blizzard is optimistic about the future of WoW.
In other news, the company is dedicated to pushing all its franchises onto mobile. A recent investor call from COO Daniel Alegre revealed Activision Blizzard is "investing meaningfully" into the mobile gaming marketplace. With Call of Duty: Mobile putting up impressive numbers, it seems that the gaming giant is starting to warm up to the thought of having other high-performing titles make the jump over to the small screen.
Source: GameSpot