Activision Blizzard Form 10-K (Feb 23, 2023)

Activision Blizzard submited a new Form 10-K to the SEC. Diablo Immortal and World of Warcraft have suffered a few losses in terms of MAUs, but revenue continues to go steady with Diablo Immortal and Overwatch 2.

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight saw less revenue due to low subscriptions compared with previous expansions.

There was something interesting about the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard deal. If certain conditions are met leading to the deal termination … Activision Blizzard or Microsoft might have to pay $2 Billion to the affected party. Cough… Mike Ybarra. Activision Blizzard… stop being a-holes with your employees, maybe? At least until the deal is approved. Just sayin’!

“If the Merger Agreement is terminated under certain specified circumstances, we or Microsoft will be required to pay a termination fee. We will be required to pay Microsoft a termination fee of approximately $2.27 billion under specified circumstances, including termination of the Merger Agreement due to our material breach of representations, warranties, covenants or agreements in the Merger Agreement. Microsoft will be required to pay us a reverse termination fee under specified circumstances, including termination of the Merger Agreement due to a permanent injunction arising from Antitrust Laws (as defined in the Merger Agreement) when we are not then in material breach of any provision of the Merger Agreement and if certain other conditions are met, in an amount equal to (1) $2.5 billion if the termination notice is provided prior to April 18, 2023, or (2) $3.0 billion if the termination notice is provided at any time after April 18, 2023. The consummation of the Merger remains subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of certain regulatory approvals. The two parties are continuing to engage with regulators reviewing the proposed transaction and are working toward closing in Microsoft’s fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals and satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions.”

These are merely cherry-picked quotes from different sections of the Form 10-K. (Read More below — or check the full report from the source)

Activision Blizzard Form 10-K

The increase in net bookings for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the year ended
December 31, 2021, was primarily due to:

The increase in in-game net bookings for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, was primarily due to:

Average MAUs increased by 21 million or 6% for the three months ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022. The increase was primarily due to higher average MAUs for Activision, driven by the Call of Duty franchise, and Blizzard, driven by the launch of Overwatch 2, partially offset by a decrease in average MAUs for Diablo Immortal.

Average MAUs increased by 18 million or 5% for the three months ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the three months ended December 31, 2021. The increase was primarily due to higher MAUs for Blizzard, driven by the launch of Overwatch 2.

Upcoming Content Releases

As publicly announced, we expect 2023 to include the releases of Diablo IV, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile and the next full premium title in the Call of Duty franchise. In addition, throughout the year we expect to deliver ongoing content for our various franchises, including continued in-game content for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, which includes seasonal content updates for Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, seasonal content updates for Overwatch 2, and other substantial new content for key Blizzard franchises.

In-game net revenues primarily includes the net amount of revenues recognized for microtransactions and downloadable content during the period.

Consolidated net revenues

The decrease in consolidated net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, was primarily driven by a decrease in revenues of $2.0 billion due to lower revenues from:

This decrease was partially offset by an increase in revenues of $871 million due to higher revenues from:

The remaining net decrease in revenues of $187 million was driven by various other titles.

In-game net revenues

The decrease in in-game net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, was primarily driven by a decrease in in-game net revenues of $990 million due to lower in-game net revenues from:

This decrease was partially offset by an increase in in-game net revenues of $496 million due to higher in-game net revenues from: