Call of Duty
GameBy Infinity Ward · Released Oct 29, 2003
Documents about Call of Duty
Market Wire: November 28, 2022
This market analysis provides a snapshot of the video game industry as of late November 2022, focusing on major corporate developments, competitive dynamics in mobile gaming, and regional market trends.
- The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly preparing an antitrust lawsuit to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard due to concerns over market competition.
- Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed that the primary strategic motivation for the Activision acquisition is to bolster Microsoft's mobile gaming capabilities, an area where the company currently lacks significant market presence.
- Activision’s 'Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile' has reached over 35 million pre-registrations as of November 25, 2022, positioning it as a major competitor to EA’s 'Battlefield Mobile' in the mobile FPS sector.
Rapporto sugli Esports in Italia 2021
The Italian esports sector experienced a period of robust expansion and professionalization throughout 2021, demonstrating significant resilience despite the global challenges posed by the pandemic.
- The Italian esports fanbase reached 1.62 million individuals aged 16–40 in 2021, with the 'avid fan' segment growing by 15% to 475,000 people.
- Avid fans in Italy spend 62% more on gaming-related products and services monthly than the general fan base, maintaining an average of 3.3 gaming service accounts per user.
- The competitive gaming landscape is highly volatile, experiencing a 72% year-over-year turnover in top-streamed titles as games like Call of Duty: Warzone gained traction alongside staples like League of Legends.
Rapporto sugli Esports in Italia 2022
The Italian esports landscape is undergoing a period of structural consolidation, characterized by a dedicated fanbase of 1.62 million individuals aged 16 to 40.
- The Italian esports market comprises 1.62 million fans aged 16 to 40, with an average age of 27 and a socio-economic profile higher than the national average.
- Twitch is the dominant consumption platform, having recorded a 60 percent year-over-year increase in hours watched.
- The market has shifted from the dominance of single titles like Fortnite toward a more fragmented landscape led by competitive games such as Call of Duty: Warzone and Rocket League.
Plus: Why Is Bendy Such a Big Deal, Anyhow?
The release of Bendy and the Dark Revival serves as a primary case study for understanding how niche horror franchises achieve mainstream commercial success.
- Bendy and the Dark Revival achieved 5,700 concurrent Steam users, proving that niche horror franchises can transition from meme-driven, fan-made content to polished, $30 commercial titles.
- Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 dominated the mid-November 2022 market with over 430,000 concurrent users, despite facing negative player sentiment.
- The Chinese life simulator Nobody: The Turnaround reached a peak of 82,500 concurrent users before being unexpectedly removed from the Steam store.
Plus: Probing Dave the Diver's Sleeper Hit Origins
This analysis examines the performance of recent PC and console releases, focusing on the unexpected success of Dave the Diver and broader market trends across Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
- Major publishers are successfully adopting indie aesthetics to drive engagement, exemplified by Nexon’s sub-brand Mintrocket achieving 4,000 concurrent users and over 2,300 overwhelmingly positive reviews for Dave the Diver.
- Football Manager 2023 demonstrated strong market demand by reaching 72,000 concurrent users on Steam during the early November 2022 period.
- Sonic Frontiers outperformed expectations in its first three days, recording 19,200 peak concurrent users on Steam and an estimated 120,000 owners across PlayStation and Xbox.
Diablo Immortal and Candy Crush Were Biggest Contributors to Activision Blizzard’s Mobile Growth in Q3
Activision Blizzard’s financial performance in the third quarter of 2022 was defined by a significant shift toward mobile gaming, which accounted for 52.3% of the company’s total revenue.
- Mobile gaming became Activision Blizzard’s primary revenue driver in Q3 2022, accounting for 52.3% of total revenue with $932 million in earnings.
- Mobile revenue grew 14% year-over-year, providing a critical buffer against significant declines in the PC and console segments, which fell 37% and 36% respectively.
- Candy Crush Saga remained the company’s top-grossing mobile title, generating $316.8 million during the quarter.
Activision Blizzard Q3 2022 Financial Results
Activision Blizzard’s financial results for the third quarter of 2022 reveal a period of contraction, characterized by a 31.9% decline in net income to $435 million and a 13.9% decrease in total net revenue to $1.78 billion.
- Activision Blizzard reported a 13.9% decline in total net revenue to $1.78 billion and a 31.9% drop in net income to $435 million for Q3 2022.
- The Activision segment experienced a 25.1% revenue decline, primarily driven by reduced player engagement following the poor reception of Call of Duty: Vanguard.
- Digital channels remain the company's core revenue driver, accounting for 90% of total earnings, while traditional physical game sales fell by 45.3% year-over-year.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Generates Over $1 Billion in 10 Days
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II achieved a significant commercial milestone by generating over $1 billion in worldwide sell-through revenue within its first 10 days of release.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II generated over $1 billion in worldwide sell-through revenue within its first 10 days following its October 28, 2022, release.
- The title set a new franchise record by reaching the $1 billion threshold five days faster than the previous record-holder, Black Ops II.
- Initial engagement metrics for the 10-day launch period included over 200 million hours of gameplay and more than 1 billion completed multiplayer matches.
Activision Touts Sell-Through Success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Activision Blizzard reported significant commercial success for the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, which generated over $800 million in worldwide sell-through revenue within its first three days of release.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II generated over $800 million in worldwide sell-through revenue within its first three days of release.
- The game achieved the biggest opening in the franchise's history, surpassing the previous five-day record of $775 million set by Modern Warfare 3 in 2011.
- Modern Warfare II set a new franchise record for the highest-grossing digital opening weekend.
American Gaming Market: October 2022
The United States gaming market experienced a period of stagnation in October 2022, with total consumer spending reaching $4.3 billion, a figure essentially unchanged from the same period in the previous year.
- US consumer spending on games (software, hardware, accessories) in October 2022 remained flat year-over-year at $4.3 billion.
- Software sales were the only segment to see growth in October 2022, increasing by 2% year-over-year to $4 billion, driven by multiple new game releases.
- Hardware sales declined by 10% year-over-year in October 2022, reaching $424 million.
New Games' Biggest Discovery Competition? Old Games
The primary thesis of this analysis is that "evergreen" legacy titles represent the most significant competition for new video game releases on PC and console platforms.
- Legacy titles are the primary competitors for new releases, with the top 20 established games receiving 50% more reviews than the top 20 new launches on Steam in October 2022.
- When excluding the outlier Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, older games outperformed new releases by 225% in player engagement metrics.
- The competitive gap widens as the sample size increases; when comparing the top 40 games, legacy titles outperformed new releases by 258%.
Will Apple’s NFT Guidelines Kill Crypto Mobile Games? - The Metacast by Naavik
Microsoft is actively positioning itself to challenge the mobile duopoly of Apple and Google by exploring the development of an Xbox-branded mobile storefront.
- Microsoft is developing an Xbox-branded mobile storefront to challenge the Apple and Google duopoly, aiming to consolidate mobile assets like Candy Crush and Call of Duty while leveraging its cloud gaming infrastructure.
- Apple mandates that all NFT transactions within mobile games must use its proprietary in-app purchase system, imposing a 30% commission that creates significant friction for decentralized web3 gaming models.
- Analysts expect Apple may eventually introduce its own proprietary crypto-payment or wallet systems to maintain control over the digital economy within its walled garden.
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