The Activision Blizzard Q3 Earnings financial results are now available. They show a revenue increase compared to both year-to-year as well as projections. On the flip side, they registered 60 million fewer monthly active users (MUAs).
In the quarter ending September 30, 2031, Activision Blizzard Q3 earnings saw net revenue of $2.07 billion. This beats both the prior outlook of $1.970 billion and the year-to-earn earnings. Q3 2020 saw revenue at $1.954 billion.
The Activision Blizzard Q3 Earnings also highlighted that the MAUs were down to 390 million, a drop of 60 million compared to the same time in 2020. While Activision Blizzard sees higher revenue, it’s coming from fewer users.
The culprit for the drop in users is Call of Duty. Vanguard, the 2021 release, saw fewer sales than 2020’s Cold War. Warzone saw lower engagement as well. That may be related to the strike by QA devs at Raven Software that led to the formation of the Game Workers Alliance union. The Blizzard-specific MAUs and revenue growth are on the performance of Diablo II: Resurrected.
Time was spent in the Activision Blizzard Q3 earnings report discussing the company’s continued “commitment to a safe, inclusive working environment.” The mentioned steps include the following:
- Adding staff and resources to the ethics and compliance and employee relationships teams. More than 20 individuals have exited the company in recent months that do not adhere to the desired standards.
- The implementation of a zero-tolerance harassment policy company-wide that “will be applied consistently.”
- Waiving the required arbitration of future individual sexual harassment and discrimination claims. This was done based on employee feedback.
- Investing an additional $250 million across the next ten years into initiatives that help foster expanded opportunities for under-represented communities in gaming and technology.
- A requirement for a diverse slate of candidates for all full-time open positions.
Some of these efforts can be seen through action. Activision Blizzard recently converted all 1,100 QA workers from contract to full-time employees. Kristen Hines was hired as the company’s new Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer. There is still a long way to go, however. The company recently settled one of its sexual harassment lawsuits for $18 million. The report also states that California governor Gavin Newsom is interfering with investigations against the company.
