Overwatch growth spurt drives Q1 growth for Activision Blizzard

A record period of growth for Overwatch has been rewarding for Activision-Blizzard’s finances.

Blizzard has seen a 58 per cent jump in their revenue in the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations with a respectable $441m in revenues.

It still hasn’t quite hit the numbers seen by mobile outfit King, who have hit $475m in revenue. Activision meanwhile, in the awkward midway point between its yearly Call of Duty release, made just $215m.

Blizzard revenues for the period reached $441m, although that doesn’t quite match revenues from the company’s biggest contributor, King, which hit $475m. Activision generated $215m.

Console revenues account for $615m of total revenue and PC’s $566m, with mobile and ‘other’ platforms scraping past $70m.

However, Overwatch is the big success story. In-game spend in the shooter is up 25 per cent, with players getting spendy as they try to snag time-limited costumes and collectibles. This, coupled with the 58 per cent jump in monthly active users, has seen Overwatch earn over $1b in revenue, the 8th game from Blizzard to do so.

Bobby Kotick heaped praise on Overwatch as he talked through their first quarter results:

“This quarter we delivered record revenues, earnings per share and cash flow, and over-performed guidance,” said Kotick. “Among the drivers of our results was Overwatch.”

“The Overwatch League is gaining momentum and we’re excited to offer our community of players the best professional league experience. Destiny 2 and Call of Duty: WWII are also coming later this year, and both reveals have been very well received by fans.”