Spurred by Candy Crush Saga, Activision Blizzard see Q3 2021 growth up 6%

Activision Blizzard has reported its Q3 2021 financial results for the period ending September 30th.

The company reported revenues of $2.07 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6 per cent, with net bookings up 6 per cent to $1.88 billion.

Activision itself reported net revenues of $641 million, a 17 per cent decrease year-on-year. This was despite net bookings for Call of Duty Mobile increasing by 40 per cent year-on-year,

The loss from the firm’s Activision operations was offset by increased revenue from its Blizzard and King operations.

Blizzard net revenues reached $478 million, an increase of almost 22 per cent year-on-year. The company attributes this increase partly due to the success of the launch of Diablo 2: Resurrected.

Blizzard’s upcoming mobile release, Diablo Immortal, is currently undergoing testing and is on track for release in the first half of next year. The closed beta for Diablo Immortal was recently launched in Canada and Australia.

The largest revenue gains were seen in the Activision Blizzard subsidiary, King, with revenues growing by 22 per cent to $652 million, a new quarterly record. 

King’s flagship game Candy Crush grew 20 per cent over the previous year.

Steady growth

“I’m pleased to report strong third-quarter results ahead of our prior outlook,” said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

“We are excited about this week’s Call of Duty launch and expect continued success in the fourth quarter. I want to thank our employees for their continued commitment to each other, the company, and our players. We look forward to sharing progress updates on our workplace initiatives, alongside our business performance.”

Commenting on the decline in revenue from its Activision arm, the publisher stated: “Segment revenue was lower year-over-year in the third quarter due to the launch of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 in the year ago quarter and declines in Call of Duty against a quarter that benefited from shelter-at-home mandates and the early ramp of Warzone.”

Additionally, the firm reported that its monthly active users for the quarter were 390 million, the same as the year prior, but the lowest of the four quarters since. The majority of MAUs came from King, totalling 245 million in the third quarter.

For its fourth quarter, the firm is projecting net revenues down to $2.02 billion, a 16 per cent year-on-year decrease and net bookings down 9 per cent to $2.78 billion.

Despite revenue decreases elsewhere, Activision Blizzard has seen a boom in mobile revenues this year, with King and Call of Duty hitting record sales. Call of Duty Mobile is expected to generated $1 billion in consumer spending in 2021 alone.

Source: http://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/77472/activision-blizzard-see-q3-2021-growth-up-6-percent/