The most commonly asked question when you are considering how much money has World of Warcraft made is, of course, “how much money is this game worth?” Blizzard has always been a huge revenue stream for the company, and its 5.6 million players are an obvious sign that it is making money. Even with the recent announcement that the company is ditching the subscription model for all future games, the game is still generating a significant amount of cash.
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Activision Blizzard’s revenue from subscriptions
If you have played World of Warcraft, you’ve probably seen its Battle Pass system. In addition to the basic game, you can purchase a variety of additional items and upgrades for a subscription fee. But while the Battle Pass system has been criticized for its overuse in recent games, Activision Blizzard has stuck to the system in World of Warcraft. In fact, in its most recent earnings report, the publisher mentioned that it plans to introduce substantial new content for the Warcraft universe by 2022.
While the revenue from World of Warcraft subscriptions is small, the company still has a long way to go to grow its business. Activision Blizzard’s revenue from World of Warcraft subscriptions is expected to reach $1 billion in the third quarter of this year, and this figure is likely to continue to grow. The company also has plans for several new games, including Diablo 4, Diablo 3, and Overwatch 2. However, the company is not planning an earnings presentation or investor call this quarter as the merger between Activision Blizzard and Microsoft is ongoing. You can check out the company’s Q1 2022 financial report on its official website.
Its revenue from cosmetic items
There’s no doubt that World of Warcraft has long been a popular game, but recently, it has gotten a new set of complaints regarding the company’s decision to sell an online cosmetic outfit for $20. Streamer Asmongold is not happy about the decision, and thinks it is in bad taste to include a $20 outfit in the game. But what are the alternatives? Here are some alternatives to making more money from World of Warcraft cosmetic items:
For one thing, a World of Warcraft subscription is more profitable than selling individual items. This revenue stream can be attributed to the popularity of the game. Many players spend money on the cosmetics, but this revenue can be used for other aspects of the game. For example, players can customize their characters by buying them from the marketplace. In addition to cosmetic items, they can also buy gold from merchants.
Its revenue from DLC
World of Warcraft recently released a new DLC expansion called Battle for Azeroth. While this expansion has helped the game’s popularity in recent years, the game’s subscriber numbers have been declining. According to a report from DSOGaming, World of Warcraft made $161 million in August alone. While this figure is low compared to past years, it is still a good sign.
While conventional wisdom suggests that game expansions help to retain players, it hasn’t always been true. While Warlords of Draenor saw a spike in user engagement, it was much smaller than the one that followed, and the subsequent decline was offset by the freebie character boost introduced in Mists of Pandaria. The company attributes the decline to the timing of game releases. But it is worth noting that World of Warcraft has more exciting updates planned for the future.
In 2016, Activision Blizzard made $8 billion in net revenues. This included microtransactions and in-game purchases. Combined, these earnings are equivalent to 61% of Activision Blizzard’s total revenue. Activision Blizzard has already sold 9 million copies of World of Warcraft and is on track to earn $23 billion by 2021. Despite the recent uptick in World of Warcraft’s revenues, the company still remains one of the largest gaming companies in the world.
Its revenue from esports
In its quarterly earnings call, Activision Blizzard revealed the company’s plans for the future of esports. The company estimates that Hearthstone will generate $20 million in revenue every month by 2020, while Destiny 2 has a 1.0 ESG score. Meanwhile, DFC Intelligence released its report on the PC gaming market, and estimates that game software revenue will grow to $42 billion by 2020.
The industry for esports is a fast-growing one. It’s not just a trend of unemployed twentysomethings anymore. 380 million people around the world watch esports. It’s a growing industry and a great place for investment. In 2016, the world finals of League of Legends drew 43 million viewers, while the NBA Finals Game 7 attracted 31 million viewers. The fragmented landscape and digital platform of esports means that the industry offers many potential monetization opportunities.