Tag: activision
Activision revenues declined in Q2 due to “lower engagement” in the Call of Duty franchise
Activision released its Q2 financials for the current fiscal year overnight, noting a decline in net revenue due to “lower engagement” in Call of Duty.
For the second quarter, the company reported revenue of $1.64 billion, a year-over-year (yoy) decline compared to $2.30 billion reported during Q2 2021.
That said, segment revenue and operating income grew versus the first quarter of the current fiscal year due to gameplay improvements and seasonal content made available across Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty: Warzone.
Activision Blizzard hits financial targets with Q2 bookings of $1.64B
Microsoft negs Activision Blizzard to push through $68.7 billion acquisition
Microsoft is taking an interesting approach to secure regulatory approval for its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In a recent filing spotted by Rock Paper Shotgun, the company told New Zealand’s Commerce Commission the troubled publisher produces no “must have” games. Yes, you read that right.
“There is nothing unique about the video games developed and published by Activision Blizzard that is a ‘must have’ for rival PC and console video game distributors that give rise to a foreclosure concern,” the company says in the document. Put another way, Microsoft believes owning the rights to best-selling Activision Blizzard franchises like Call of Duty won’t prevent rivals like Sony from competing against it.
At first glance, that would seem to be a nonsensical argument to make about a company Microsoft plans to spend $68.7 billion to acquire. All the same, it’s a claim the tech giant is making in response to its rivals. In a filing with Brazilian regulators, Sony called Call of Duty “an essential game” and an AAA title “that has no rival.” It argues the franchise is so popular that it influences the consoles people buy. Sony is likely speaking from experience. In 2015, the company announced an agreement with Activision that saw some Call of Duty content arrive on PlayStation consoles first.
Downplaying the importance of Call of Duty is just one of the ways Microsoft has tried to placate regulators. In February, the company pledged it would continue to make the franchise available on PlayStation consoles beyond the end of any agreements Sony and Activision had in place before the acquisition was announced. More recently, the company announced a labor neutrality agreement with the Communications Workers of America, which has been organizing video game workers across the industry.
Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Q2 2022 Earnings: Key financials and quarterly highlights
Activision Blizzard (NYSE: ATVI) reported second quarter 2022 earnings results today. Net revenues totaled $1.64 billion compared to $2.30 billion in the year-ago period. Net income amounted to $280 million, […]
The post Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Q2 2022 Earnings: Key financials and quarterly highlights first appeared on AlphaStreet.
Sony on Microsoft Activision buyout: Call of Duty has no rival
In January 2022, Microsoft confirmed a $70 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard along with its major cash-cow, Call of Duty. The Microsoft Activision buyout has big implications for the gaming industry, and Playstation owner Sony has some major concerns – including about Xbox Game Pass, too.
As posted by Idas on Resetera, who claims he is a specialist in IT Law, the Microsoft Activision deal has to be approved by regulators from over the world – including the UK, which we know about. Brazil, which began its investigation in May, apparently seeks opinions from third parties in deals like this – and with how transparent Brazil is about this information, we now know what publishers think of the Activision acquisition.
As translated by Idas (and verified by PCGamesN), Sony’s comments about the deal show particular concern. Sony agrees that all games compete for player engagement and that no triple-A publishers out there could create a franchise to rival Activision and Call of Duty, which it calls a “gaming category” all of its own. Call of Duty cannot be rivaled or replaced and is so popular that it influences people’s choice of console, according to the publisher.
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