Activision posts $8.8 billion revenue for 2021, $5.1 billion from microtransactions

Activision Blizzard recently released its yearly earnings report and the company boasted some impressive figures for 2021. According to its investor portal, the publisher broke records by generating $8.8 billion in net revenue, and $2.7 billion in net income. However, what's surprising is that $5.1 billion of that was through microtransactions, subscriptions, and other add-ons.

It's no secret that the latest entry in the Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: Vanguard, didn't perform as well as Activision Blizzard expected due to its technical issues. Despite that, the company saw one of its best years ever on the strength of its microtransactions, mostly.

Activision Blizzard also boasts some of the biggest monthly active user counts in the industry. While previous figures have gone as high as 435 million players every month, December 2021 saw 371 million.

Back in January 2022, Microsoft shocked the gaming industry by announcing its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for around $70 billion. Despite the missteps this year, Call of Duty is still the biggest game in Western markets, but the monthly active user count is probably more attractive to Microsoft. The corporation has focused on growing Xbox Game Pass in recent years, and making the Call of Duty games available through Xbox Game Pass should boost subscribers.

Activision posts $8.8 billion revenue for 2021, $5.1 billion from microtransactions