Activision Blizzard has announced record profits for Q2 of this fiscal year.
Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard, credited Overwatch’s successful May launch, Call of Duty’s “record first half performance,” and Candy Crush ’s continued domination as “key drivers of our overall performance.”
Sales increased more than 50 percent year-over-year to $1.57 billion, while Activision’s digital full-game and add-on revenue was $1.14 billion, or 72.6 percent of profits. That figure is up 101% year-over-year.
Activision Blizzard had 491 million monthly active users during the quarter, with Candy Crush representing 409 million of those users and 33 million from Blizzard’s games. Blizzard’s number increased 13 percent year-over-year and comes from the launch of Overwatch as well as a record Hearthstone quarter. Overwatch now enjoys over 15 million players globally.
Blizzard also cited strong pre-sales of the next World of Warcraft expansion, Legion, which is tracking the same as previous expansion Warlords of Draenor. Legion releases later this month.
Activision Blizzard also releases Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare on Nov. 4, Destiny: Rise of Iron on Sept. 20, and Skylanders Imaginators on Oct. 13, meaning it will be a very busy year for Activision moving ahead.
Kotick added, “The lynchpin of our current success and our future growth is our talent. Our teams have the unique combination of passion, entrepreneurial spirit and inspired creativity. The success of Overwatch, our newest franchise, is a testament to this talent. I’m grateful to our over 10,000 employees, each of whom embodies these characteristics of our culture.”
