Activision Blizzard’s mobile revenue rises above console and PC

Activision Blizzard’s mobile games combined accounted for 51% of the company’s total revenue stream for Q2 2022, beating console and PC combined.

Activision Blizzard, previously known for its high-profile console and PC games, is now primarily a mobile game publisher. Recent success Diablo Immortal combined with Candy Crush and Call of Duty Mobile helped the mobile earnings reach 51% of total revenue for Q2 2022.

Most gamers do not think about Activision Blizzard as a mobile company. Hearthstone and Candy Crush have been popular mobile games for several years, and Call of Duty Mobile made a huge splash when it launched, with a total of nearly 88 million downloads in the first month of its release.

Activision Blizzard used to be known only for PC and console games — primarily Call of Duty, Starcraft, and World of Warcraft. It’s been a rough year for the company overall: in addition to the numerous ongoing cases against the company regarding sexual harassment and abuse, as well as the furore surrounding its massive buyout by Microsoft, to the tune of nearly 100 billion AUD.

Blizzard Entertainment’s corporate headquarters in Irvine, California. Picture: Getty Images

In Q2 2022, Activision Blizzard’s mobile games generated approximately $1.2 billion AUD, accounting for 51% of the company’s total quarterly earnings. Console games comparatively made only $540 million AUD, and PC games took in just shy of $500 million AUD. In the mobile games section, the biggest winner was King, with 82% of all mobile revenue profit at just shy of $1 billion AUD.

Embattled Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick had this to say during the earnings report: “In addition, we expect to continue to deliver ongoing content for various of our franchises. We will also continue to invest in opportunities that we believe have the potential to drive our growth over the long term, including continuing to build on our advertising initiatives and investments in mobile titles.|

Activision Blizzard is facing no shortage of troubles despite this massive growth. The company is accused of anti-union behaviour towards one of its studios, hiring union-busting firms in the process. Activision Blizzard also recently scrapped a World of Warcraft mobile game after some financial disagreements with its Chinese partner, NetEase.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF.