Today Activision announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of calendar year 2019, related to the period between October 1 and December 31.
The publisher released a table summarizing its results, which you can see below.
Incidentally, the publisher mentions that said results are “better than expected.”
The press release also included the traditional comment by Activision Blizzard Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick.
“Our fourth-quarter results exceeded our prior outlook for both revenue and earnings per share.
Our recent Call of Duty success illustrates the scale of our growth potential, as we expanded the community to more players in more countries on more platforms than ever before. With our strong content pipeline across our franchises and momentum in mobile, esports, and advertising, we look forward to continuing to delight our players, fans and stakeholders in 2020 and beyond.”
We also get a list of highlights underlining the performance of the publisher’s games and finances.
We learn that Call of Duty Mobile passed 150 million installs. Call of Duty; Modern Warfare increased by a double-digit percentage (over 10%) in sell-through compared to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, showing growth on both PC and consoles.
World of Warcraft ended the year with an active community over doubled compared to what it was in the middle of the year.
Overwatch passed 50 million players since launch following the release on Switch (but this was already known since November).
Activision
- Activision had 128 million MAUs.
- Call of Duty Mobile installs exceeded 150 million, with the game reaching the top of the download charts in more than 150 countries and regions, and ending the fourth quarter in the top-15 grossing games in U.S. app stores.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfareunit sell-through increased by a double-digit percentage versus Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, with growth across both PC and console. PC sell-through on Battle.net grew 50% year-over-year. Modern Warfare saw strong growth in full-game downloads with console digital mix at nearly 50%. In-game net bookingsC grew by a double-digit percentage versus Black Ops 4.
- In 2019, Call of Duty again generated more upfront console sales than any other franchise worldwide, a feat accomplished for 10 of the last 11 years.
- In January, the Call of Duty League debuted with 12 city-based teams competing at its launch weekend in Minnesota. The league launched with deeply experienced team owners, high profile sponsors, and streaming distribution through YouTube, Activision Blizzard’s new broadcasting partner for esports leagues and events.
Blizzard
- Blizzard had 32 million MAUs.
- World of Warcraft exited 2019 with an active player community more than twice the size of its Q2-ending level.
- Hearthstone launched the Descent of Dragons expansion and rolled out the new Battlegrounds game mode in the fourth quarter, which drove sequential growth in engagement. Net bookings also grew sequentially for the franchise.
- Overwatchlaunched on the Nintendo Switch, further expanding a community that has surpassed 50 million players globally since launch.
- In February, the Overwatch League will return with 20 established teams from around the world competing in a homestand format with matches broadcast live on YouTube.
King
- King had 249 million MAUs.
- Candy Crush Saga mobile reach grew year-over-year and it was the top-grossing title in the U.S. app stores.
- Candy Crush was once again the top-grossing franchise in the U.S. mobile app stores in the fourth quarter and 2019.
- Advertising net bookings grew over 80% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, and exceeded $150 million dollars in 2019.
If you want to compare, you can check out the results for the previous quarter, which were published in November.
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