Activision Blizzard saw an uptick in Q1 2023 revenue thanks to big-name games

Activision Blizzard has released its financial report for the first quarter ending March 31, 2023.

For the period, the company reported net revenues of $2.38 billion (up 35%), compared to $1.77 billion during Q1 2022. Net revenues from digital channels were $2.16 billion.

For the first quarter, the net amount of products and services sold digitally or sold-in physically (net bookings) grew 26% year-over-year (yoy) to $1.86 billion. In-game net bookings were $1.29 billion.

For the company as a whole, first-quarter income grew 70% yoy, with operating income up 30% yoy.

Overall, Activision Blizzard's Monthly Active Users (MAUs) were 368 million for the period.

The quarter's growth was broad-based and attributed to increased net bookings for Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo.

The Activision segment revenue grew 28% yoy for the period, and thanks to Call of Duty, segment operating income was triple that of 2022. Premium Call of Duty game sales during the quarter was significantly higher yoy. In-game product sales on console and PC grew strongly yoy, and Call of Duty Mobile also grew yoy.

Blizzard increased 62% to to $435 million yoy in Q1, with Warcraft, Overwatch and Diablo contributing to growth. Segment operating income was broadly stable yoy.

World of Warcraft subscriber retention in the West is higher than at the equivalent stage of recent Modern expansions.

Overwatch engagement moderated versus the Overwatch 2 launch quarter. Hours played were approximately twice the levels seen prior to the release of the free-to-play experience. Season 3, which launched in February, drove strong retention and consistent player investment versus the prior season.

Diablo Immortal on mobile and PC also contributed to Blizzard's first quarter net bookings growth, with the game experiencing stable trends across engagement, retention, and player investment. Warcraft: Arclight Rumble, an action strategy game internally developed at Blizzard, is progressing well through regional testing.

King, Activision's mobile segment, posted net revenues of $739 million, up 8% yoy.

In the financials, company CEO Bobby Kotick addressed the UK's decision to block Activision Blizzard's acquisition by Microsoft, calling the decision "disproportionate, irrational and inconsistent with the evidence."

"We remain confident that our deal with Microsoft benefits competition, consumers, and job creation in markets around the world, especially in the UK," said Kotick. "The CMA's report today does not reflect these realities, and we will work aggressively with Microsoft to reverse it on appeal."

Microsoft said it plans to appeal the decision.

After news of the denial by the CMA, stock in Activision Blizzard fell by 10% with fluctuation. In contrast, Microsoft stock was up following its latest financial report.

As of press time, despite the positive financial report, Activision Blizzard stock is trading at $76.91 per share compared to this morning's high of $86.99.