Activision Blizzard Sets Records, Nintendo Flops

Activision Blizzard can boast some company bests in its fourth-quarter report. 

The video game giant recorded $2.33 billion in fourth-quarter revenue, up from the $2.16 billion it generated during the same period last year — and reported record quarterly net bookings of $3.57 billion, a 43% year-over-year increase from $2.49 billion.

• Activision’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II” had the highest opening-quarter sell-through in franchise history. In the 10 days following its release, the game generated $1 billion in sales.
• Blizzard saw its highest quarterly net bookings ever, primarily attributed to growth for “Warcraft,” “Overwatch,” and “Diablo” — each delivered more than $100 million in net bookings.
• King’s “Candy Crush” was the top-grossing game franchise in U.S. app stores for the 22nd consecutive quarter.

Activision’s segment revenue and operating income increased around 60% year-over-year, while Blizzard’s increased roughly 90% year-over-year. Monthly active users for the company increased from 368 million to 389 million.

Activision Blizzard is set to be acquired by Microsoft for $69 billion, but the deal has faced scrutiny from regulators including a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission.

Sales Switch

Not all gaming companies had a good quarter.

Nintendo reported on Tuesday it sold around 8.23 million Switch consoles in its third quarter — a roughly 22% drop. It now expects to sell 18 million consoles in the fiscal year ending March 2023, compared to 19 million.

It also cut its net profit outlook to around $2.8 billion, a drop from its previous outlook of roughly $3 billion.