‘Modern Warfare II’ Sales Bright Side to Activision Blizzard’s Q3 Hit

Activision Blizzard reported $1.78 billion in third-quarter revenue, a decline from the $2.07 billion for the same period last year. 

The company posted net bookings of $1.83 billion, down from $1.88 billion in Q3 FY 2021, and ended the quarter with 368 million monthly active users.

Despite the declines, Activision Blizzard is already having a strong Q4.

On Monday, the company announced that “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II” crossed $1 billion in worldwide sell-through in the first 10 days from its Oct. 28 release — the fastest in franchise history.

• The previous record of 15 days was held in 2012 by “Black Ops II.”
• In the first three days following its release, “Modern Warfare II” topped $800 million in sell-through — the top-selling opening in franchise history.
• “Modern Warfare II” has already logged more than 200 million hours played across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms, more than 40% above the prior franchise record.

Call of Duty will release “Warzone 2.0” on Nov. 16, with “Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile” planned for full release in 2023.

Microsoft’s Moves

Activision Blizzard is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft for $69 billion, but the New York Post reported over the weekend that the latter company could blow up the deal. 

Antitrust authorities in the U.S., U.K., and European Union are reviewing the proposed agreement — and Microsoft reportedly didn’t expect so much scrutiny.