Blizzard Lost Millions Of Active Monthly Players Last Year But Made More Money

You may have seen that Activision recently released their Q1 2021 earnings report, and it's given us some interesting insights. While Call of Duty was cited a key driver for profits, Blizzard also brought in increased revenue, though it's not all good news.

Confirming they had 27 million monthly active users across January - March this year, that figure's dropped significantly from 2019 and 2020, where Q1 held a respective 32 million in both years. Considering Q1 2018 had 38 million, that's not a particularly reassuring picture for Blizzard.

Read More: Call of Duty Drove Activision's Q1 2020 Revenue Growth By 27%, Earning $2.28 Billion

Blizzard Lost Millions Of Active Monthly Players Last Year But Made More Money

However, they still reported strong operating results. Thanks to World Of Warcraft and the recent Shadowlands expansion, revenue was up by 7%, stating: "World of Warcraft saw strong reach, engagement, and participation in value added services, along with a particularly high number of new players joining the community for the first time, boosted by initiatives to enhance the onboarding experience"

Outside regular updates and expansions - and excluding the reviled Warcraft III: Reforged remaster - we've not seen a brand new title from Blizzard since Overwatch in 2016, which may account for this reduced activity.

That said, Blizzard has three major releases planned for 2021, which covers Diablo II: Resurrected, WoW: Classic - The Burning Crusade, and Diablo Immortal. Though we aren't getting Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 until at least next year, these figures are likely bounce back soon.