The launch of Diablo 4 propelled Blizzard’s financials to record levels as over 10 million played the game.
Reporting its latest financial earnings, Activision Blizzard said Blizzard revenue grew over 160% year-over-year and operating income more than tripled year-over-year, each setting new quarterly records driven by the launch of Diablo 4 in early June. However, Activision Blizzard has yet to announce a sales figure for Diablo 4, preferring to focus on the number of players metric.
Blizzard brought in just over $1 billion in revenue in the three months to June 30, with an operating income of $409 million. During the same period last year, Blizzard brought in $401 million for an operating income of $94 million. In-game net bookings (DLC and microtransactions) for Activision Blizzard as a whole were $1.5 billion during the three months, up 30% from the same period last year. Sales of Diablo 4 cosmetics, which have faced criticism by some, will have contributed heavily to this figure.
Blizzard monthly active users actually fell by one million to 26 million, but this figure should be considered alongside fluctuating player counts for Overwatch 2 and World of Warcraft.
Diablo 4’s success, however, is clear. As of the end of June, it had sold through more units than any other Blizzard title at an equivalent stage of release, Activision Blizzard said. As mentioned, over 10 million played Diablo 4 in June, playing for over 700 million hours total. Activision Blizzard said retention trends for Diablo 4 are “particularly strong”.
The launch of Diablo 4 also boosted interest in mobile game Diablo Immortal, with June revenue reaching the highest level since January.
Activision Blizzard said Warcraft: Arclight Rumble, an action strategy game internally developed at Blizzard, continues to progress through testing ahead of its regional soft launch.
Despite its sales success, Diablo 4 has seen controversy around always-online and some server issues. The latest patch has also angered players, some of whom accuse Blizzard of a heavy-handed nerf. Diablo 4’s Season 1, dubbed Season of the Malignant, launches July 20. If you’re still playing, check out our interactive Diablo 4 map to start tracking your progress as you play.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
