Activision Blizzard Revenue Down 15% in Q3

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
Activision Blizzard reported a 15% year-over-year decline in Q3 2019 net revenue to $1.28 billion, with net bookings falling 27% to $1.21 billion.
02
Total monthly active users (MAUs) across the company dropped 8% year-over-year to 316 million, with declines occurring across all three divisions: Activision (down 22%), Blizzard (down 11%), and King (down 6%).
03
Revenue by division saw significant year-over-year drops for Activision (down 47% to $209 million) and Blizzard (down 38% to $394 million), while King remained relatively stable with a 1% decline to $500 million.
04
The loss of the Destiny 2 IP following the departure of Bungie in January 2019 was a primary factor contributing to the lower year-over-year financial performance.
05
Call of Duty: Mobile achieved over 100 million installations in its release month, becoming a hit in more than 150 countries.
06
World of Warcraft experienced its highest quarterly subscription growth in the franchise's history following the launch of WoW Classic.
07
Despite the overall revenue decline, King’s net bookings nearly doubled compared to the third quarter of 2018.

Summary

Activision Blizzard’s financial performance for the third quarter of 2019 reflects a period of contraction, characterized by year-over-year declines in both revenue and active user engagement. Net revenue for the quarter fell to $1.28 billion, representing a 15% decrease compared to the same period in 2018, while net bookings dropped 27% to $1.21 billion. These results were partially influenced by the departure of Bungie and the subsequent loss of the Destiny 2 intellectual property.

The decline was unevenly distributed across the company’s three primary business segments. The Activision division experienced the most significant impact, with revenue falling 47% to $209 million, followed by Blizzard, which saw a 38% decline to $394 million. King remained the most stable segment, reporting $500 million in revenue, a marginal 1% decrease. Monthly Active Users (MAUs) followed a similar downward trend, with the company’s total audience shrinking by 8% to 316 million players. Specifically, Activision’s MAUs fell 22% to 36 million, Blizzard’s dropped 11% to 33 million, and King’s decreased 6% to 247 million.

Despite these broad declines, the company identified several positive performance indicators that exceeded internal expectations. The launch of Call of Duty: Mobile achieved significant scale with over 100 million installations in its first month, and the release of World of Warcraft Classic drove record-breaking quarterly subscription growth for the franchise. Additionally, King demonstrated resilience, with its net bookings nearly doubling compared to the third quarter of the previous year. These results highlight a transition period for the publisher as it balances legacy revenue losses with new growth initiatives in mobile and classic content.