Activision Blizzard Q2 2020 Earnings Call

[Watchers]

It doesn't surprise me. 8.3 was the best patch in BFA and stacking corruption finally makes classes fun to play again. The major issue they'll have to deal with is that characters once again feel like sluggish and weak once we lose all this power in Shadowlands. Leveling in beta with the premade characters is an absolute chore and shit takes forever to kill. Its not as bad if you copy over your mythic geared char, but then you'd expect a mythic geared char to smash through leveling no matter what. They once again have to deal with players losing everything and working their way back up after being gimped by losing essences/azerite/corruption. This is gonna cause backlash and people quitting just like in BFA

nice jokes!

[Heartbreaker23]

Its increasing because of the gallywix ban.

But yeah classic is dying

Why would it increase because of players being banned?

I wasn't talking about the short spike that was bound to drop again, I'm talking about the decline at the end of the expansion that always happens because people stop playing.

[Lurker1]

None of this suprises me at all.

I'm actually playing the game, unlike many forum whiners here. It's incredibly active, more so than potentially ever. Even legacy farming spots for obscure achievements and reps have been crowded throughout the last months. Game is more alive than it has been for years. Shadowlands hype is real too, and it's bringing many old players back / attracting many new players.

Despite all the toxic bullshit the usual bad actors are spewing on youtube and twitch, the game is doing great, and I love it!

Well said!

[Dracullus]

Its increasing because of the gallywix ban.

But yeah classic is dying

It's not increasing, it turned into rollercoaster. Instead of 165-175k (all EU prices), it's like 140-200k right now. I think we need few days for new price to settle in.

[Queen of Hamsters]

None of this suprises me at all.

I'm actually playing the game, unlike many forum whiners here. It's incredibly active, more so than potentially ever. Even legacy farming spots for obscure achievements and reps have been crowded throughout the last months. Game is more alive than it has been for years. Shadowlands hype is real too, and it's bringing many old players back / attracting many new players.

Despite all the toxic bullshit the usual bad actors are spewing on youtube and twitch, the game is doing great, and I love it!

Same, and that's why the haters hate us! ^_^

Also, for the haters: EU count (not counting Russia) for High/Full pop servers: 79.
That's up by 13 since 8.2, and more than Classic has servers IN TOTAL ACROSS THE WORLD. Remember, Retail servers have higher pop capacity.

But please, do continue pretending that Blizzard's lying on quarterly reports (illegal) meant to keep their investors in the loop because the figures hurt your feels.

[Jshadowhunter]

Blizz can go stuff those stupid Chinese sellout phone games up Bobby's ass.

[ClassicPeon]

Why would it increase because of players being banned?

I wasn't talking about the short spike that was bound to drop again, I'm talking about the decline at the end of the expansion that always happens because people stop playing.

Quite simple if you know what Gallywix is. If you are interested you can look it up

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It's not increasing, it turned into rollercoaster. Instead of 165-175k (all EU prices), it's like 140-200k right now. I think we need few days for new price to settle in.

If it hasnt yet, it will. Its not a question of if or perhaps. Its going to happen. Supply and demand

[Doffen]

None of this suprises me at all.

I'm actually playing the game, unlike many forum whiners here. It's incredibly active, more so than potentially ever. Even legacy farming spots for obscure achievements and reps have been crowded throughout the last months. Game is more alive than it has been for years. Shadowlands hype is real too, and it's bringing many old players back / attracting many new players.

Despite all the toxic bullshit the usual bad actors are spewing on youtube and twitch, the game is doing great, and I love it!

It's totally opposite on my server when it comes to guilds active and their players, my own guild have maybe 6-7 people active once a week, on sundays for m+ or potential raiding, but the latter falls short every time for a couple of months now. But anecdotal evidence is just that so it's hard to point out how alive it really is. According to raider.io there is a record in how many mythic+ that have been done in a patch, 8.3, 4.3 million characters I believe that has done at least a +2. But guilds raiding in 8.3 is at it's lowest for at least 4 years. Interestingly enough, more guilds have done at least Wrathion Mythic in Ny'alotha, which is more than Worldbreaker Mythic in Antorus. So there are a good amount of players active, that's for sure.

But since we got sharding, it will always feel somewhat alive. Which is cool and shows that sharding can indeed be useful for different kind of things. I am pretty sure WoW is in a good spot and can't wait for Shadowlands, or at least pre patch to arrive myself.

[Greyvax]

But since we got sharding, it will always feel somewhat alive. Which is cool and shows that sharding can indeed be useful for different kind of things. I am pretty sure WoW is in a good spot and can't wait for Shadowlands, or at least pre patch to arrive myself.

Pretty much this. I enjoyed 8.3 for a solid 6 months, but i did everything i wanted to do, so i've just unsubbed to play other games till SL hits.

[Aeriedk]

Wow look at all these defensive replies.

You can only blindly repeat whatever Blizzard decides to squeeze out of their sphincter.

I'm pretty sure it is illegal to lie during an earnings call.

[Azmoden]

Normal people: "Man, WoW sure sucks since Activision merged with Blizzard".

Blizzard fanboys: "They're still different companies, get your facts straight, and stop criticizing our Lord and Savior Blizzard!!!"

Normal people looking at the earnings call: "Well the Activision part is doing well, but Blizzard games are kind of stagnating".

Blizzard fanboys: "They're the same company you dumbass, so it doesn't matter what you say, Blizzard is doing great, now fuck off".


Me: *inserts Wat meme here*...

[Raamul]

Can you please, in your infinite wisdom, explain what relevance subscriber numbers have for us as players? They barely meant anything to us when we did get them, why would they matter any more now?

Oh right. I forgot. You need them to construct your carefully worded thesis about how modern WoW sucks and the number of people playing it is directly proportional to the quality of the game. Keep up the big brain plays my dude.

Just curiosity, I think I am curious to know. are you not ?

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I'm pretty sure it is illegal to lie during an earnings call.

even in the accounting standards there are loop holes and companies do take advantage of it and show a shiny picture. and when you talk about subjective things like "engagement" who is to say which is correct/legal. there is no standard for such metrics.

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None of this suprises me at all.

I'm actually playing the game, unlike many forum whiners here. It's incredibly active, more so than potentially ever. Even legacy farming spots for obscure achievements and reps have been crowded throughout the last months. Game is more alive than it has been for years. Shadowlands hype is real too, and it's bringing many old players back / attracting many new players.

Despite all the toxic bullshit the usual bad actors are spewing on youtube and twitch, the game is doing great, and I love it!

think the concern was about blizzard's claim on "engagement" and other subjective things. there is no way to tell how correct/incorrect blizzard's estimates/projection are.

[Butterland]

Even legacy farming spots for obscure achievements and reps have been crowded throughout the last months.

You can't really base yourself on that information. Sharding was literally made to balance populations within zones. There's no way for you to tell if a zone is popular (1000 players split into 100 shards of 10 players) or barren (10 players combined into a single shard).

[otaXephon]

Just curiosity, I think I am curious to know. are you not ?

Considering the only fucking thing players would ever do with subscriber numbers is incorrectly correlate subscriber losses or gains with features they like or dislike, no. I have absolutely zero desire to know that information, even out of curiosity. Now, if Blizzard released subscriber levels along with all of their internal retention data including, you know, the actual reasons people quit WoW, instead of, you know, the imaginary reasons people on forums like to pretend they quit over, then sure. I'd support it. But given that Blizzard doesn't release that data for the very specific reason that it would directly benefit their competitors, I can't see a world where knowing subscriber levels does more than provide baseless talking points for shitty internet arguments.

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think the concern was about blizzard's claim on "engagement" and other subjective things. there is no way to tell how correct/incorrect blizzard's estimates/projection are.

LOL dude. Yep, you figured it out. Just another case of mean 'ol Blizzard lying in their Quarterly Reports while the enlightened forum posters own the devs with facts and logic. Nevermind the fact that Blizzard stands to lose their entire fucking reputation in the games industry by falsely reporting metrics... nah. Internet sleuths like you are thankfully here to question the very foundation of the billion dollar establishment with your pointed supposition... "what if they're not telling the truth, huh? WHAT THEN, SMARTY PANTS??"

[Raamul]

[QUOTE=otaXephon;52798373]Considering the only fucking thing players would ever do with subscriber numbers is incorrectly correlate subscriber losses or gains with features they like or dislike, no. I have absolutely zero desire to know that information, even out of curiosity. Now, if Blizzard released subscriber levels along with all of their internal retention data including, you know, the actual reasons people quit WoW, instead of, you know, the imaginary reasons people on forums like to pretend they quit over, then sure. I'd support it. But given that Blizzard doesn't release that data for the very specific reason that it would directly benefit their competitors, I can't see a world where knowing subscriber levels does more than provide baseless talking points for shitty internet arguments.
/QUOTE]

First of all its up to people how to look at it and these numbers are not just for the players, they are primarily for shareholders/investors.

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LOL dude. Yep, you figured it out. Just another case of mean 'ol Blizzard lying in their Quarterly Reports while the enlightened forum posters own the devs with facts and logic. Nevermind the fact that Blizzard stands to lose their entire fucking reputation in the games industry by falsely reporting metrics... nah. Internet sleuths like you are thankfully here to question the very foundation of the billion dollar establishment with your pointed supposition... "what if they're not telling the truth, huh? WHAT THEN, SMARTY PANTS??"

I don't know why you are upset with me. Perhaps you are pissed in your life and just putting words in my mouth. I didn't say anything. Also perhaps you didn't know companies much bigger than Blizzard/Acti lied in reports and scammed shareholders and investors. Grow up.

[Shadoowpunk]

As a person who got out from the meaningless drivel that is the forum community of World of Warcraft..i must tell you this much.
Is quite a view to constantly watch you guys saying the exact same things everyday for years.

Changes
WoW dead
WoW bad
WoW good

Youtube: Changes, please change this, please change that, changes changes changes

What a weird thing...

[Baneto]

As a person who got out from the meaningless drivel that is the forum community of World of Warcraft..i must tell you this much.
Is quite a view to constantly watch you guys saying the exact same things everyday for years.

Changes
WoW dead
WoW bad
WoW good

Youtube: Changes, please change this, please change that, changes changes changes

What a weird thing...

Its not a weird thing being passionate about something you care about though, is it?

[Shadoowpunk]

Its not a weird thing being passionate about something you care about though, is it?

But the "changes" thing is completely insane.
Every youtube video content creator...is a "changes guy"
They even say the word multiple times..

[rogoth]

Can you please, in your infinite wisdom, explain what relevance subscriber numbers have for us as players? They barely meant anything to us when we did get them, why would they matter any more now?

Oh right. I forgot. You need them to construct your carefully worded thesis about how modern WoW sucks and the number of people playing it is directly proportional to the quality of the game. Keep up the big brain plays my dude.

the subscriber count was entirely relevant to the state of the game and could be used as both a positive metric for showing growth in the game and showing that it was expanding to new audiences, but also negatively when talking about the utter decimation of the playerbase, it became especially important when the game was no longer bound by the monetisation model it had, had for years leading up to the point when they added the store mounts to the game adding a supplementary income stream for the game that wasn't purely just subscription prices.

To expand on that, showing the subscriber numbers was also a way for the general playerbase to see what content was available and if it was worth coming back to the game based on player numbers at a given point in time, even though subscriber numbers kept falling post cataclysm release there were periods where the drop wasn't as pronounced because of a new content patch seeing players who had quit return, or new players start playing, furthermore, because of how at the time certain language was perceived in business even after the catastrophic drop in player numbers blizzard never once said anything about 'server mergers' or similar because of the negative connotations the term and other similar language would bring for investors causing them to back out or not invest to begin with, which is why they invested time/resources in making cross realm tech work, because over time if they could convince people that servers didn't matter anymore then they could do with them what they wanted behind the scenes (server connections as they became known) and not have any issues with the business side of things.

At last estimate there's less than 2 million total active players worldwide (not counting china), when blizz stopped reporting player numbers that count was well above 4-5 million, and over the last few years especially we have seen them switch from subscription based income to more microtransaction based income to squeeze the whales out there to prop up their earning figures, it had been an unspoken/unwritten fact when they first added the in game store that this transition was happening but now it's out in the open.

i hope this helps answer your question somewhat because it was actually very important for them to reveal their player numbers, not doing so gave them the freedom to do things that would have otherwise been impossible and not seen favourably by the community.

[Baneto]

But the "changes" thing is completely insane.
Every youtube video content creator...is a "changes guy"
They even say the word multiple times..

They are broadcasting content from the beta where a lot of things change daily, its only normal for them to talk about them.

Maybe they could use different wording, perhaps say "developments" instead?