Call of Duty publisher Activision suffer active player count drop in 2023
An Activision Blizzard earnings report has revealed that the Call of Duty publisher’s player count suffered a drop in the millions. What’s more, the reported drop in active players occurred over just a few months at the start of 2023.
It has been a tumultuous past couple of years for video game behemoth Activision, as Microsoft’s acquisition continues to pose problems for all parties involved. The most recent roadblock arrived on April 26, as the UK government announced its decision to block the deal.
Luckily, their game endeavors have been less rocky, with the launch of Modern Warfare 2 considered a major hit. The title set a new record for the fastest-selling game in the CoD franchise.
Thanks to Modern Warfare 2’s launch, Activision’s Q4 of 2022 was a major success both economically and from a popularity standpoint. However, an earnings report has now revealed that Activision suffered a drop in active players from Q4 2022 to Q1 2023.
According to an official Activision earnings report, the active player count dropped from 111 million in Q4 of 2022 down to 98 million at the start of 2023 in Q1.
The start of the new year was not a pleasant one for Activision. While this reported Activision player count consists of more than just Call of Duty titles, it’s safe to expect that the dip is a result of the poor post-launch reaction to Modern Warfare 2.
Although the excitement for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 was sky-high prior to launch, players feel as though the devs failed to deliver sufficient content and desired gameplay fixes to keep them engaged heading into 2023.
While the Activision active player count drop is fascinating, Blizzard’s loss in active players has it beaten in terms of scale. Blizzard experienced a player count drop from 45 million to 27 million, which equates to a loss of 40%.
Given that Overwatch 2‘s popularity quickly fizzled after launch, these numbers are to be expected. Perhaps Diablo 4 will manage to get the active player count back up following its June 2023 release.
For more, check out how Microsoft claimed that the Nintendo Switch can run Warzone & new CoD games “without issue”, or how Modern Warfare 2 players were left fuming after a shock CoD 2023 report.
Image Credit: Activision
