Blizzard’s Monthly Active Users in Q3 2022 – Microsoft merger on the brink?

Without having made an earnings call, those responsible at Activision Blizzard published the quarterly figures for the third quarter of 2022. The report speaks of a pleasing, positive jump in revenue, and above all the successful and lucrative launch of Diablo Immortal in China should do it have a large share. “At Blizzard, the free-to-play launch of Overwatch 2 on October 4th took community engagement to a new high. These results build on the recent strong launch of Diablo Immortal and a substantial rollout of content for World of Warcraft on,” the report reads. How does that translate to measurable numbers like monthly active users?

Recovery from the low

It seems like at least Blizzard Entertainment got the big fall 2021 shock from the Allegations of misogyny, molestation and fratboy culture as well as the ongoing lawsuits against Activision Blizzard somewhat overcome. Recently, the negative headlines in this regard have been more about those responsible for Activision Blizzard, who Efforts by employees to form unions want to suppress – which is of course also unpleasant in an industry that is hardly regulated in this respect.

Diablo Immortal, WoW WotLK and Overwatch 2 bring an upswing

How do we get the idea that at least Blizzard was able to recover? After the number of monthly active users (abbreviated to MAU) has steadily decreased since September 2021 – from 26 million in Q3 2021 to 24 million in Q4 2021 and 22 million in Q1 2022, the numbers have been increasing again since Q2 2022. As of June 20, 2022, 27 million MAUs were reported, now in Q3 ending September 30, 2022, there were 31 million MAUs. It is very likely that the strong performance of Diablo Immortal in China, the strong start of WoW WotLK Classic and the current popularity of Overwatch 2 play a very important role. What the whole thing will look like after the launch of WoW: Dragonflight will be exciting.

In contrast, the brands served by Activision (e.g. Call of Duty) suffered losses of 23 million MAUs in a quarterly comparison (Q3 2021 to Q3 2022). The King division (Candy Crush etc.) has settled relatively stably at 240 million MAUs. By comparison, Blizzard Entertainment’s profits from MAUs are, of course, vanishingly small. The full report on the Activision Blizzard Q3 2022 results You can view it as a PDF if you are interested.

The declining interest is also reflected in net income: “Activision segment net income decreased 25% year-on-year, Blizzard segment net income increased 10% and King segment grew 6% in the third quarter of 2022. On a constant currency basis In the third quarter of 2022, Activision segment net revenues decreased 22% year-over-year, Blizzard decreased 16% and King decreased 11% in 2022 as a result of changes in foreign exchange rates reducing Activision segment net revenues by 3%, Blizzard segment net revenues by 6% and negatively impacted King segment net sales by 5%.”

What about the acquisition by Microsoft?

As mentioned, there was no earnings call for the numbers; the announced takeover by Microsoft also plays a role here. The following lines can be read in the report: “As announced on January 18, 2022, Microsoft plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share in an all-cash transaction. The transaction is subject to closing conditions and the completion of regulatory review. The transaction is expected to close in Microsoft’s fiscal year ending June 30, 2023 and has been approved by the boards of directors of Activision Blizzard and Microsoft, as well as Activision Blizzard shareholders.”