Activision Blizzard reported that Blizzard saw 27 million monthly active users in the first quarter of 2021. This means that, 2 million players were lost when compared to the previous financial quarter. Blizzard has also lost almost 29% of its overall active player base in three years.
While this is bad news for Blizzard, it’s worth remembering that the company hasn’t released a new game since Overwatch came out in May 2016. The interest in Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 has also been bottomed.
Overall, Blizzard has had a turbulent time in recent years. We know that Activision’s increasing influence on the company caused significant internal problems. We’ve seen many people leave the company, including Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan, and most of the original Hearthstone team.
However, Activision Blizzard has also reported a 7% annual revenue growth, led by the Warcraft series. We can attribute this to the World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands expansion. Year-over-year operating income was $ 208 million while operating margin was 43%.
On the bright side, The Burning Crusade expansion for World of Warcraft Classic will be released sometime this year. Diablo 2: Resurrected, a remake of the much loved action RPG and Diablo Immortal will also be released later this year. Although there is no release date for Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2, players are eagerly waiting for them. Apart from that, there are a few more mobile games that we do not know the details of.
It is clear that the former Blizzard that we all loved is long dead. The drop in player numbers makes this very clear. Of course, because of multiple layoffs and shady business practices, it’s not surprising to see Activision Blizzard increase its profits. Even if Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 comes out as successful games, a continuation in the decline of players will not surprise me at this point.
