Activision made a record $5.1 billion from microtransactions in 2021

Kaeden · Feb 6, 2022

2021 was Activision-Blizzard's best year ever. The company delivered all-time highs in net revenues ($8.804 billion), operating income ($3.62 billion), and a whopping $2.7 billion in net income. Last year also delivered a bounty in microtransaction cash.

The company generated a staggering $5.1 billion from in-game purchases across its live service titles, which includes DLC, World of Warcraft subscriptions, and of course lootboxes and cosmetics. These purchases made up 61% of Activision-Blizzard's total $8.354 billion net bookings.

84421_10_activision-made-record-5-1-billion-in-microtransactions-2021.png

Activision-Blizzard's games business is remarkably resilient. Despite ongoing controversy from sexual harassment lawsuits, the major delay of big games like Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV, not releasing very may games, and a drop in Call of Duty game sales, Activision just reported its best year ever.

2021 full of milestone, mostly thanks to online-driven live services, digital content, and a hefty $950 million deferral + distribution deal stream. Activision-Blizzard hit new high points in 2021 across pretty much every trackable earnings metric.

$8.804 billion net revenue, second consecutive year of record revenues
$3.26 billion operating income, all-time highest point driven by live games
$2.7 billion net income, highest ever
$5.1 billion in net bookings, largest ever revenues thanks to myriad of live services, subscriptions

84420_66_activision-made-record-8-billion-in-2021-despite-vanguard-sales.jpg

More below.

Activision made a record $5.1 billion from microtransactions in 2021

Activision-Blizzard reported a new record all-time high of $5.1 billion in microtransaction and subscription revenue in 2021.

www.tweaktown.com

Activision 2021 earnings: Best year ever, record revenues and income

Activision just delivered two consecutive years of record-breaking growth with $8.8 billion in net revenues through 2021.

www.tweaktown.com

DominicanGlory · Feb 6, 2022

Warzone is huge, yes

EarlGreyHot · Feb 6, 2022

I feel like such an alien for never buying MTX stuff. Damn this is a lot of money.

Griffith · Feb 6, 2022

I'm just going to sit here and wait for that person who told me that Activision was struggling, on another thread, to explain how this is possible.

Deleted member 93062 · Feb 6, 2022

The record was achieved even as sales from Call of Duty Vanguard dropped. Despite the sales miss, the Activision segment delivered its second-best revenues of all time

Holy shit lmao.

Juryvicious · Feb 6, 2022

Holy sweet baby Jesus. Microsoft getting the most bang for their buck. Fucking horse armor has some a long way. lol

As someone who hasn't spent a nickle on MTX related stuff in years, and continuing to have no desire to do so, I'm out of touch with that segment of gaming.

Deleted member 9241 · Feb 6, 2022

Horse armor has come a long way!

YozoraXV · Feb 6, 2022

In 10 years this will likely be seen as MS's best purchase.

Even with Blizzard doing nothing and COD declining they still make crazy money.

Kaeden · Feb 6, 2022

My only thing with this article is that they consider WoW subscriptions "microtransactions" which I'm not sure fall under that category. Do you all agree with that?

Frieza · Feb 6, 2022

Insane. It'll only grow with Warzone 2 coming out next year.

lucablight · Feb 6, 2022

Gosh is there is community that sabotages itself more than people who play games? No self control at all. We deserve everything we get.

P-MAC · Feb 6, 2022

EarlGreyHot said:
I feel like such an alien for never buying MTX stuff. Damn this is a lot of money.

I haven't yet either. Not even like I've made a rule not to, I just haven't been super into a game where they're tempting yet, I'm sure I'll get pulled in eventually lol

Deleted member 93062 · Feb 6, 2022

Frieza said:
Insane. It'll only grow with Warzone 2 coming out next year.

Yep. Also their new Call of Duty mobile game that's being built in-house instead of outsourced so they'll keep most of the revenue. It's possibly Warzone Mobile, they're going be raking in even more cash.

Chille · Feb 6, 2022

Kadin said:
My only thing with this article is that they consider WoW subscriptions "microtransactions" which I'm not sure fall under that category. Do you all agree with that?

I guess with the increased cost of microtranscatioms over the years the price of WoW sub does fit in. Plus with the 6 month get a free mount campaign that happens every so often I could easily see why someone would consider it MTX. I don't think it does but I can see the reason

Raigor · Feb 6, 2022

lucablight said:
Gosh is there is community that sabotages itself more than people who play games? No self control at all. We deserve everything we get.

Yup.

It's funny how people love to blame the companies for MTX when the users are the ones that accepted them and spend billions every year on console, PC and especially mobile.

AmFreak · Feb 6, 2022

Griffith said:
I'm just going to sit here and wait for that person who told me that Activision was struggling, on another thread, to explain how this is possible.

Every company on this planet that is saved by the holy Microsoft, was struggling, if they knew it or not.
But beware of Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix or whoever gets thrown at the wall next, they are evil and want to take over everything, any moment, now, for the last few years.

Kaeden · Feb 6, 2022

Chille said:
I guess with the increased cost of microtranscatioms over the years the price of WoW sub does fit in. Plus with the 6 month get a free mount campaign that happens every so often I could easily see why someone would consider it MTX. I don't think it does but I can see the reason

Yeah the latter point actually does make sense since there can be MTX involved with the sub as you mentioned. And more and more are doing this as added bonuses to get that monthly fee.

Vimto · Feb 6, 2022

MS are making that money back in 10 years damn

vixolus · Feb 6, 2022

it really is insane. The most I've spent on MTX is maybe like... close to $100 worth of skins in League of Legends over the span of my 11+ years or whatever playing it. And most of that was within the first 4.

I've bought a RL car pack (first one they released as a way to support Psyonix for a banger game), a Pet in SOT, and the BP in Halo Infinite, but the latter two were with MS Rewards money so it wasn't even out of pocket really... I just never really feel the desire to buy this kind of stuff.

Mr.Deadshot · Feb 6, 2022

Raigor said:
Yup.

It's funny how people love to blame the companies for MTX when the users are the ones that accepted them and spend billions every year on console, PC and especially mobile.

At least we still get "full" games on PC and consoles. The mobile market never had a chance. If it's not free with MTX on a phone, it might as well not even exist.

More PC and console games will adapt that model in the future though. Just look at Genshin Impact and how successful it is and most big companies more and more shifting towards GaaS.

Frieza · Feb 6, 2022

AmFreak said:
Every company on this planet that is saved by the holy Microsoft, was struggling, if they knew it or not.
But beware of Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix or whoever gets thrown at the wall next, they are evil and want to take over everything, any moment, now, for the last few years.

Activision had a criminal as their CEO running the company into the ground and making the lives of the employees a living hell. Not sure how you can view MS as the bad guy in this scenario…the alternative would have been Bobby remaining CEO and continuing his reign of terror.

Rosebud · Feb 6, 2022

Mtxs are the devil, what I spent in Fortnite makes me ashamed of myself but it's fun

Frieza said:
Activision had a criminal as their CEO running the company into the ground and making the lives of the employees a living hell. Not sure how you can view MS as the bad guy in this scenario…the alternative would have been Bobby remaining CEO and continuing his reign of terror.

I don't hate this acquisiton but this argument is so dangerous, the alternative should be him being jailed if this was a serious country

Griffith · Feb 6, 2022

Frieza said:
Activision had a criminal as their CEO running the company into the ground and making the lives of the employees a living hell. Not sure how you can view MS as the bad guy in this scenario…the alternative would have been Bobby remaining CEO and continuing his reign of terror.

So... what Frieza is trying to tell us is that Microsoft liberated Activision from tyranny. That's what this was all about. I learn so many new things every day.

Frieza · Feb 6, 2022

Rosebud said:
Mtxs are the devil, what I spent in Fortnite makes me ashamed of myself but it's fun

I don't hate this acquisiton but this argument is so dangerous, the alternative should be him being jailed if this was a serious country

We both know he isn't going to jail no matter how much we want that. This was the next best outcome at least Activision employees don't have to be under him.

Deleted member 22750 · Feb 6, 2022

Frieza said:
Activision had a criminal as their CEO running the company into the ground and making the lives of the employees a living hell. Not sure how you can view MS as the bad guy in this scenario…the alternative would have been Bobby remaining CEO and continuing his reign of terror.

Into the ground?
Numbers would disagree.

And he is getting a sweet deal with Microsoft. A huge cash payment out the door. And by huge I mean huuuuuuge.

To clarify….the deal doesn't punish him and even with his mismanagement they were still pulling in insane amounts of money. Microsoft pounced on this opportunity.

Pein · Feb 6, 2022

Frieza said:
Activision had a criminal as their CEO running the company into the ground and making the lives of the employees a living hell. Not sure how you can view MS as the bad guy in this scenario…the alternative would have been Bobby remaining CEO and continuing his reign of terror.

The only way to punish Bobby is with a billion dollar buy out and him profiting millions of dollars. This was the only way?

Deleted member 93062 · Feb 6, 2022

Mr.Deadshot said:
At least we still get "full" games on PC and consoles. The mobile market never had a chance. If it's not free with MTX on a phone, it might as well not even exist.

More PC and console games will adapt that model in the future though. Just look at Genshin Impact and how successful it is and most big companies more and more shifting towards GaaS.

Apple Arcade exist and it has some pretty solid games with no MTX!

Frieza · Feb 6, 2022

Pein said:
The only way to punish Bobby is with a billion dollar buy out and him profiting millions of dollars. This was the only way?

Microsoft isn't paying him millions it's the arrangement he has with Activision as their CEO.

Mr.Deadshot · Feb 6, 2022

Sullivan said:
Apple Arcade exist and it has some pretty solid games with no MTX!

I know, there are always exceptions. But the vast majority of mobile games are MTX driven.
Locking stuff behind a subscription service isn't great either. But yes, there are also good mobile games that you can buy for a set price and enjoy forever.

Deleted member 13101 · Feb 6, 2022

lucablight said:
Gosh is there is community that sabotages itself more than people who play games? No self control at all. We deserve everything we get.

Who is "we"? People play lots of mobile games.

DontHateTheBacon · Feb 6, 2022

Frieza said:
Activision had a criminal as their CEO running the company into the ground and making the lives of the employees a living hell. Not sure how you can view MS as the bad guy in this scenario…the alternative would have been Bobby remaining CEO and continuing his reign of terror.

Yep. There are only two potential paths forward in this world.

No CEO has ever lost the confidence of the board and been removed in the past before. Only Microsoft can save these employees and shareholders from certain doom!

Valet Jay · Feb 6, 2022

AmFreak · Feb 6, 2022

Frieza said:
Activision had a criminal as their CEO running the company into the ground and making the lives of the employees a living hell. Not sure how you can view MS as the bad guy in this scenario…the alternative would have been Bobby remaining CEO and continuing his reign of terror.

Agreed, Microsoft just should buy everyone.

Deleted member 93062 · Feb 6, 2022

lucablight said:
Gosh is there is community that sabotages itself more than people who play games? No self control at all. We deserve everything we get.

I don't think this is entirely fair. There are definitely people who like in-app purchases. At least for me, I love the new Battle Pass system especially in CoD because it doesn't rip apart the fanbase with DLC map packs and it's entirely optional. I hated back in the day when I couldn't really afford CoD + all map packs, not being able to play with my friends. Think it sucks to look at everything in one dimension.

threi · Feb 6, 2022

Griffith said:
I'm just going to sit here and wait for that person who told me that Activision was struggling, on another thread, to explain how this is possible.

"That person" huh? How about you quote "that person" if you want them to respond.

I know what I said. I can say that they may not have been doing as poorly financially as originally anticipated, but that was neither the point being discussed in "another thread" nor has the point changed here.

threi said:
This is a forgone conclusion, but not because of consolidation, but because of ballooning development budgets.

Consolidation is a symptom, not a cause.

This is what I said, and I stick by it.

threi said:
It has been an observable trend for a while now.

Every year we have record breaking games in terms of development budgets, and also record breaking losses for publishers that fail to meet the outrageous and increasing demand from consumers.

Activision for example was running themselves into the dirt just trying to put out CoD every year.

If you have the resources to stabilize your development pipeline, why wouldn't you?

The industry is growing, and growing fast. Development talent is pool that, while renewable, is finite in the short term. These companies literally cannot afford to not secure their future. Especially with much larger companies on the horizon with their eyes on the market.

It's ugly? Yes. Business is ugly. Capitalism is ugly. But the root of this is on consumers. Consumers dictate the action of companies, because companies are trying to get the money of consumers. If gaming shifts towards subscription wars (which looks very likely), it is due to the desires of the market. Don't like it? Well...ask arcade gaming diehards for tips on how to cope I guess.

Bolded and underlined is where I may have misspoke, where you wanted to get your "gotcha" from. Well sure then, you got it.

However, I absolutely stick by everything else I have stated. If you want to add additional context to your point with this information, feel free to. I am all ears. Since you wanted to call out "that person" I mean.

Whitemex · Feb 6, 2022

That's a lot of John McClanes

Caiusto · Feb 6, 2022

Griffith said:
I'm just going to sit here and wait for that person who told me that Activision was struggling, on another thread, to explain how this is possible.

I'm not that person (don't even know who that is) but I'll try to explain a little bit.

First of all, their main game underperformed. Yeah, the most sold game of 2021 underperformed according to their estimations, just shows you the situation ABK is in.
Then their costs were higher than the years prior to that, which is guaranteed to get higher every year.
And at last, their stocks were in decline because of the scandals and COD: Vanguard underperforming.

Sure, they had record revenues from MTX but that's not all a company is about, the future for them was not great.

Sambo · Feb 6, 2022

Wonder how much this will drop by once COD stops being released on Playstation, no doubt that's a huge proportion of sales.

Prime2 · Feb 6, 2022

Sambo said:
Wonder how much this will drop by once COD stops being released on Playstation, no doubt that's a huge proportion of sales.

If Warzone is still there I dont see it dropping much, the majority of the MTX come from skins etc that drop for that game.

Griffith · Feb 6, 2022

threi said:
"That person" huh? How about you quote "that person" if you want them to respond.

I know what I said. I can say that they may not have been doing as poorly financially as originally anticipated, but that was neither the point being discussed in "another thread" nor has the point changed here.

I wasn't trying to get a response. I think you made some valid points about the long-term viability of the publisher, if it continues its sales trends, but I knew for a fact that they weren't struggling financially which is something we didn't see eye-to-eye on and I'm glad you acknowledge you were mistaken in that regard.

So in an effort to show some good faith, after my cynical low-effort post, I will concede that I agree with you that with the way Activision was managing their studios, it was only a matter of time before the microtransactions weren't able to compensate for the dwindling sales numbers and studios either started being closed, shuffled or restructured.

I still don't agree with you that consolidation is inevitable, or, as you said about it:

threi said:
This is a forgone conclusion, but not because of consolidation, but because of ballooning development budgets.

Consolidation is a symptom, not a cause.

But I agree that Activision was ruining their studio and bleeding out talent due a combination of factors: the release schedules, the rampant abuse, the "dude-bro culture", among others.

We cool now?

BabyDontHurtMe · Feb 6, 2022

Dammit it didn't embed properly lol. It's "for the love of money" by the O'Jay's if you can't see it.

kimbo99 · Feb 6, 2022

Begs the question of keeping Sony on for the long run. I still think it's Warzone on all platforms and regular CoDs on Xbox moving forward.

Stacey · Feb 6, 2022

Disgusting.

Raigor · Feb 6, 2022

Sambo said:
Wonder how much this will drop by once COD stops being released on Playstation, no doubt that's a huge proportion of sales.

The vast vast majority of this revenue comes from Warzone and especially King games.

OldBoyGamer · Feb 6, 2022

I think this is the difference between people who play games and people who play games AND take an interest in the industry including gaming discourse etc.

My sons friendship group are all gamers. They play the obvious games: FIFA, CoD, Fortnight and a bit of GTA.
None of them take any more interest in the games industry other than 'what shall we all play?' and 'what's the next big game?'

Zero discourse zero knowledge of the internal dialogue between MTX/premium/loot boxes etc.

I spent a lot of wind telling my son all about the trappings of games and MTX. But through his peers he ignores it all. He doesn't spend much tbf. But I can imagine billions of young people around the world just don't care about these things. They've grown up on MTX and are fine with it.

Griffith · Feb 6, 2022

Caiusto said:
I'm not that person (don't even know who that is) but I'll try to explain a little bit.

First of all, their main game underperformed. Yeah, the most sold game of 2021 underperformed according to their estimations, just shows you the situation ABK is in.
Then their costs were higher than the years prior to that, which is guaranteed to get higher every year.
And at last, their stocks were in decline because of the scandals and COD: Vanguard underperforming.

Sure, they had record revenues from MTX but that's not all a company is about, the future for them was not great.

I agree. But that's not what my argument was about. My argument was simply that they were not struggling financially, which they weren't and aren't, as you can clearly see.

With that said:

Activision was making a series of consecutive mistakes that were all contributing to weaker sales and, I'd argue, worse-quality products.

They kept routinely laying off people, despite ballooning profits.
They creatively bankrupt many talented studios because they were only ever allowed to work on Call of Duty.
They slowly but surely destroyed the good parts of Blizzard's culture by taking it over with their own managers and middle-men while failing while failing to do anything meaningful to address the rampant misogyny and abuse within some of their studios.
They failed to secure some of their most talented creators and directors who slowly but surely walked out the door after a few years.
They also lost an incredibly valuable contract with one of the best regarded studios in the industry (Bungie)

Eventually all of these mistakes would catch up to them. There would be a point where even with the most extreme microtransactions there wouldn't be enough sales to compensate the cost of development but I think that we were still a few years away from that point.

manuvlad · Feb 6, 2022

Warzone gives Microsoft the chance to get the developers some time to reimagine the COD annual formula. I think it is time for a break.

Malcolm9 · Feb 6, 2022

kimbo99 said:
Begs the question of keeping Sony on for the long run. I still think it's Warzone on all platforms and regular CoDs on Xbox moving forward.

I think if you take games like COD away from Playstation the popularity will drop overall.

They'll earn far more money keeping games multiplatform.

Scottoest · Feb 6, 2022

It isn't just microtransactions - it's "in-game purchases", which as they indicated includes things like WoW subs.

Between WoW and Warzone, it's not really surprising.

ghostcrew · Feb 6, 2022

I presume Candy Crush made up a LARGE percentage of this?

What are WoW subs at these days?

Activision made a record $5.1 billion from microtransactions in 2021

Account closed at user request

Deleted member 9241

Account closed at user request

Prophet of Truth

Two Pieces

Deleted member 22750

Account closed at user request

Unshakable Resolve

Account closed at user request

The Shrouded Ghost