Overwatch 2 making big bucks for Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard has reported healthy financial results following the launches of both Overwatch 2 and last year’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.

Blizzard’s monthly active users have seen a sharp uptick, up nearly 87 percent year-on-year, following a long trend downwards. Revenue for the three months ending 31st December rose by roughly the same amount, as people splashed their cash on the free-to-play sequel.

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, the latest expansion to Blizzard’s long-running MMO, launched in late November. For the first time in 10 years, sales were down slightly on its predecessor, 2020’s Shadowlands (which shifted over 3.7m copies at launch).

Season 3 Trailer | Overwatch 2 Watch on YouTube

“While early Dragonflight sales have not reached the level of the prior expansion, community feedback on the title has been positive,” the company stated.

Activision Blizzard last month ended its relationship with NetEase, its Chinese publishing partner which handled the running of its games in the region. This occurred too recently to be reflected in these latest results, though its impact will likely be seen next quarter if the company does not find a replacement.