Activision Said It Faced Subdued Demand for Call of Duty, Other Games in Q4; Misses Adjusted Sales Estimates

Activision said net bookings for Call of Duty on console and PC declined year-over-year in the fourth quarter.

By Reuters | Updated: 4 February 2022 11:29 IST

Activision Said It Faced Subdued Demand for Call of Duty, Other Games in Q4; Misses Adjusted Sales Estimates

Photo Credit: Reuters

Meeting in person and eating outdoors have affected videogame momentum from the pandemic

Highlights

Activision's sales were at $2.49 billion (roughly Rs. 18,600 crore)
Quarterly net income rose to $564 million (roughly Rs. 4200 crore)
Rival Electronic Arts also missed quarterly estimates

Activision Blizzard, which is being acquired by Microsoft for $68.7 billion (roughly Rs. 5,13,300 crore), missed market estimates for fourth-quarter adjusted sales on Thursday, as the pandemic-fuelled sales boost for its games such as Call of Duty showed signs of cooling. Videogame sales in the United States surged since the start of the pandemic, as people were forced to stay at home amid restrictions on movement to curb the spread of the virus. According to data from research firm NPD, total consumer spending on video games reached a record $60.4 billion (roughly Rs. 4,51,300) in 2021, 8 percent higher than in 2020.

However, a vaccine-aided return of pre-pandemic habits such as eating in restaurants and meeting in person have hit that momentum.

The videogame publisher said net bookings for Call of Duty on console and PC declined year-over-year in the fourth quarter, reflecting lower premium sales for Call of Duty: Vanguard compared with the previous edition and lower engagement in Call of Duty: Warzone.

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Rival Electronic Arts on Tuesday had lowered its annual adjusted sales forecast and missed quarterly estimates with fewer consumers picking up new gaming titles.

Activision's quarterly adjusted sales stood at $2.49 billion (roughly Rs. 18,600 crore), compared with analysts' estimates of $2.82 billion (roughly Rs. 21,100 crore), according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Net income for the quarter rose to $564 million (roughly Rs. 4200 crore), or 72 cents (roughly Rs. 53) per share, in the quarter ended December 31, from $508 million (roughly Rs. 3,800 crore), or 65 cents (roughly Rs. 49) per share, a year earlier.

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Call of Duty: Vanguard

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Beautiful cinema
Well-written single-player campaign
Great characters; interesting addition of special abilities
Champion Hill game mode and combat pacing in multiplayer

Bad
Single-player campaign is way too short
Campaign difficulty skewed towards easy
Multiplayer visuals and pace make it more challenging
Zombies mode is not ready yet

Read detailed Activision Call of Duty: Vanguard review

Genre Shooter

Platform PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation 5 (PS5), Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC: Windows

Modes Single-player, Multiplayer

Series Call of Duty

PEGI Rating 18+

More Activision Games

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Entertaining campaign
Fantastic presentation
Space dogfights are a great addition

Bad
Feels too familiar
Generic multiplayer
Microtransactions are essentially pay-to-win

Read detailed Activision Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare review

Genre Shooter

Platform PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox One, PC: Windows

Modes Single-player, Multiplayer

Series Call of Duty

PEGI Rating 16+

More Activision Games

Call of Duty: WWII

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Fun campaign
Entertaining Zombies mode

Bad
Minor stutter in single-player
Mandatory update before playing

Read detailed Activision Call of Duty: WWII review

Genre Shooter

Platform PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox One, PC: Windows

Modes Single-player, Multiplayer

Series Call of Duty

PEGI Rating 16+

More Activision Games

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