Across each division under the Activision Blizzard umbrella, there has been a fall in players. In December 2021, Activation saw its player count fall from 119m to 107m, while Blizzard’s numbers went from 26m to 24m. This follows a previous trend that saw the developer’s MAUs fall by 13 percent in November 2021. On the flip side, Square Enix has seen its figures rise again over the last quarter. This is thanks to a substantial growth in Final Fantasy 14 subscribers, merchandise sales and expansion packs for its MMO games (via Daniel Ahmad). The success of Final Fantasy 14 has certainly been astounding. The fact that sales of Final Fantasy 14 had to be temporarily suspended to account for the ongoing congestion issues in itself speaks volumes. This makes it easy to assume that many of ABK’s users, such as those who may have once spent their time on World of Warcraft, have jumped ship in favour of Square Enix’s latest (and ongoing) offerings. Yesterday, Activision Blizzard announced World of Warcraft will be coming to mobile later this year, which may entice players back once more. This mobile Warcraft project appears to be a standalone entity, with World of Warcraft and Hearthstone credited separately in the same report. Activision Blizzard has already made headlines this year following its monumental acquisition by Microsoft. In the biggest deal in video games’ history, Microsoft spent a hefty $68.7bn on the company, which is currently embroiled in a lawsuit filed by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). The fruits of this acquisition will likely not be seen for many years, with the acquisition itself aiming to be finalised by 2023. As it stands currently, this entire deal is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission in the US.
