Mobile Becomes Activision's Biggest Platform, More Games On The Way

Activision Blizzard is known for console and PC games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Diablo, but the company now makes more money from its mobile game business.

As part of Activision Blizzard’s latest earnings report, the company revealed that net revenue from mobile has exceeded console, PC, and all other elements of its business.

For the quarter ended December 31, Activision Blizzard made $633 million from mobile and ancillary revenue, which works out to 32 percent of the company’s total net revenue. By comparison, mobile revenue was $596 million, or 25 percent of total revenue during the final three months of 2018.

This is a big change from the final three months of 2018, when console (34 percent) was Activision Blizzard’s biggest sales category, followed by PC (31 percent) and then mobile (25 percent).

You can check out the sales charts below to see how much money Activision Blizzard makes from console, PC, mobile, and other. Note that the ancillary revenue includes things like physical merchandise and accessories.

Part of what’s boosting Activision Blizzard’s mobile revenue are the offerings from mobile game giant King, which Activision Blizzard bought in 2016 for $5.9 billion. With the acquisition, Activision Blizzard said it became the “largest game network in the world.”

Outside of Candy Crush and other games from King, Activision has Call of Duty Mobile, which recently surpassed a whopping 150 million installs worldwide. The success of Call of Duty Mobile “highlights the opportunity for our other large franchises to reach hundreds of millions of new players as they expand onto mobile,” Activision said.

In fact, the company said previously that every single one of its franchises is under consideration for a mobile adaptation.

One of Activision Blizzard’s next big franchises to go mobile is Diablo. The first alpha test for Diablo Immortal will begin during 2020, Activision Blizzard has confirmed.

It also bears mentioning that just because mobile game revenue is booming for Activision Blizzard, that doesn’t mean the company will stop making console and PC games. As the charts show, console and PC remain massive categories for the company.

Just today, Activision Blizzard confirmed the next Call of Duty game, and it will no doubt launch across console and PC.

Activision Blizzard Category Revenue Breakdown