As Blizzard’s internal troubles continue, its games continue to shed players

Blizzard’s monthly active user count has dropped again, the embattled company admitted last night, during its latest quarterly results.

The developer’s monthly active users (MAUs) total was down 13 percent year-on-year, to 26 million players. That’s despite the recent launch of Diablo 2: Resurrected in September. Indeed, that figure means Blizzard has overall shed a million active users since May, and three million total since the quarter before that, when it was at 29 million.

On the upside, Blizzard’s revenue was up 22 percent year-on-year – mostly thanks to that launch of Diablo 2: Resurrected.

Where is Blizzard losing players? One obvious answer is World of Warcraft, though it’s impossible to say for certain. Blizzard doesn’t break out its active user figures by game and there are no live stats available for its titles. But there is a sense within the Warcraft community on subreddits and social media, that the hugely-popular Final Fantasy 14 is a good current alternative.

There’s also Amazon’s New World, which started brightly – even if numbers have fallen now.

Apart from Diablo 2: Resurrected, Blizzard’s release schedule has been relatively quiet. And, last night, we heard that two major titles from the company were even further off than thought. Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4, Blizzard’s biggest pair of upcoming launches, now look like they’ll launch in 2023 at the earliest. Neither of these will stem the tide of departing players next year.

All eyes turn, then, to mobile launch Diablo Immortal – that is still set for sometime in 2022.

Finally, of course, there’s the ongoing fallout from the various lawsuits and investigations going on into Blizzard’s company culture, and the allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and a “frat boy” work culture. Last night also brought the latest development in Blizzard’s ongoing changes in leadership, as Blizzard co-leader Jen Oneal stepped down after just three months in the job. Mike Ybarra will now lead Blizzard solo, “effective immediately”.