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Activision Blizzard has come in better off than expected in its Q2 fiscal report, with net revenue for the period standing at $1.641 billion (£1.263 billion) – up from the $1.555 billion (£1.197 billion) forecast in May.
Ongoing solid performance from the company’s Call of Duty titles – including ‘strong’ pre-orders for Black Ops 4 – while monthly active users on Destiny 2 grew. On the Blizzard side World of Warcraft is seeing interest reignited thanks to its upcoming Battle for Azeroth expansion, Overwatch continues to see many eyeballs on it each and every day, and Hearthstone’s expansion The Boomsday Project is seeing strong pre-purchases.
On the more mobile-focused side, King saw 270 monthly active users thanks to Candy Crush Saga, with average playtime for the studio’s games coming in at 36 minutes per day.
Net revenues were down for PC and console but up by six per cent on mobile year on year, and up a massive 68 per cent – from $62 million (£47.7m) to $104 million (£80m) – in the ‘other’ category, which factors in Activision-owned properties like Major League Gaming and the Overwatch League.
Consoles still brought in the majority of the company’s revenue in the three-month period, and though it was down one per cent year on year still made for 34 per cent of the total. PC still counts for 27 per cent of net revenue this quarter, but that was down from 31 per cent in the same period of 2017.
One interesting note is how King continues to perform incredibly well, with net revenue of $471 million (£362m) on mobile alone exceeding what Blizzard brought in with PC, console and mobile combined ($439m/£337m).
The outlook for Q3, ending September 30, puts net revenues at $1.490 billion (£1.145 billion); a relatively small rise, but the period is still the quiet time before Activision Blizzard’s major launches for 2018.
You can find the full report over on the Activision Blizzard investors’ section.
