Anyone who has followed Activision Blizzard's quarterly report for the fourth fiscal year 2019 or the quarterly report for the first fiscal year 2020 knows that the release of WoW Classic has had a very positive impact on player numbers as well as revenues. And in the freshly published annual report for the second quarter of 2020, this trend continues. Below we have summarized the most important findings from the Activision report with a view to the Blizzard franchises.

  • Compared to the second quarter of 2019, Blizzard saw another increase in the "reach and engagement" of WoW players (up 20 percent in revenue). One reason for this, it said, was the Corona pandemic, due to which many gamers continued to spend a lot of time at home. Thus, the strong push triggered by WoW Classic in August 2019 could be pushed further.The expectation, but also the anticipation of Shadowlands, which is to be released in the fourth quarter of 2020, is great among many players. Those responsible speak of enthusiastic feedback after the public tests, the pre-sales of Shadowlands could increase again in the second quarter.On the live servers are currently said to be the most players hanging around for ten years, when it comes only to the final "idle phases" of an expansion. And what about ten years ago? The final phase of Wrath of the Lich King was underway and the release of Cataclysm was eagerly awaited (hard to believe, isn't it? :D)Blizzard officials counted a total of 32 million active players in their games in the second quarter (i.e., a comparable figure to the last two quarters).Blizzard did not comment on Hearthstone's player numbers. However, the developers did note that they released key content in the second quarter with Ashes of Outland and the new hero class to build on the success of Battlegrounds. New features and game modes are planned for the coming quarters.Overwatch enjoyed a large number of returnees, with an overall player increase over the same quarter last year.Diablo Immortal is expected to have an internal, company-wide playtest in the coming weeks.

Not so nice with all the positive quarterly numbers: Document shows - Activision-Blizzard employees reportedly underpaid.

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