John UM
Activision Blizzard announced this week that it cut 8% of the company’s total workforce, and about 800 employees were laid off. In the earnings report, Activision Blizzard said that layoffs are the inevitable result of the sluggish performance in the fourth quarter of 2018 and the bleak prospects in the first half of 2019. Activision COO Coddy Johnson explained in the earnings report that the decision was part of the “reconstruction plan” and was “reducing investment in non-production jobs in its own business”. In other words, although Activision’s revenue in 2018 sets a record, it is still not enough to feed the 800 employees
In the game industry, it is a very uncomfortable thing to know that there is a company layoff. The massive layoffs of Activision Blizzard were shocking, and their previous breakup with Bungie was equally jaw-dropping. As they broke up in January, “Destiny” is still the only successful one in the new IP developed by Activision over the past decade. On the other hand, although Blizzard has not made a new stove, its works are still mostly in a state of making money. However, the company itself is arbitrarily swayed by the name of “Fantasy Blizzard”. In contrast, the project in your own hands is very pale
Looking back at the product lineup of Activision for the past five years, there is only one big pit left after the “Destiny” is figured out. In 2014-2015, Blizzard launched “The Hearthstone” and “Storm of the Storm”, and only the “Amazing Spider-Man 2” and “Tony Hawk Professional Skateboard 5” were taken out by Activision. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, this game company, which once launched many products every year, became a publisher with an annual output of no more than five new games. In 2018, Activision Blizzard has only two new works, namely “Call of Duty 15: Black Ops 4” and “The Little Dragon Sparrow Trilogy”
Apparently, Activision has focused on how to squeeze money from existing IPs, rather than thinking about how to dig new IPs. In the era of micro-transactions, this is a strategy that many vendors are happy to adopt. However, Activision’s confidence in “Fate 2” is a bit too optimistic, and its performance has not met expectations
The huge controversy behind microtransactions.
This is also the reason behind the vicious micro-transaction of Activision 2. The store in this masterpiece was once filled with all kinds of props that can be purchased with real money and can play around, so that Activision and Bungie’s resistance to players can only make substantial concessions. Even with the standard of masterpieces, the micro-transaction of “Fate 2” cannot be fully accepted by consumers. At the end of 2018, Johnson also predicted that the income of “Destiny 2” is expected to rise again, but in a few days, Activision and Bungie announced a breakup
Between the lines, Activision apparently puts itself in a position where investors think that there is a money machine like Destiny. Then, since the sales of “Fate 2” is not good, it is natural to earn money by micro-transaction. But obviously, this income is not enough for Activision to believe that it can continue to cooperate with Bungie. This set of Activision is exactly the same as the logic behind its massive layoffs
Activision In the past five years, there has been no decent new IP except for Destiny. The outside world’s attention to Activision has been on Call of Duty since the success of the 2007 Modern Warfare series, and it’s only a short period compared to Little Dragon Sparrow and Guitar Hero. Cultural phenomenon. Compared to EA’s powerful sports game lineup, Ubisoft’s diversified dolls have changed their skins but they have a lot of fun. In addition to Call of Duty, the remaining profit potential is closely related to Blizzard. The success was tied together. Blizzard is currently developing “Diablo: Immortal”, and the transfer of mobile games has largely shown that the illusion of Blizzard development has become history
Activision needs a new “Destiny”.
It’s not hard to see why Activision is counting on Blizzard’s success in the mobile game field. Blizzard’s game brand is basically a Taiwanese printing machine. The previous Blizzard is heavy and not heavy, but as the company grows, this creed may gradually change. Since 2014, Activision has only one “Destiny” in addition to COD and Blizzard, and now it has broken up with Bungie, so the pressure on Blizzard can be imagined
But it is not that the activism is almost finished. When it comes to Activision, everyone may think of console games, but don’t forget that Candy Smash Legend is in their hands. In 2018, the game’s revenue was $2 billion, compared with 880 million in the previous year. The dollar has grown by a little. Blizzard’s Watchman, Hearthstone and World of Warcraft are still making money, so Activision Blizzard won a record $72 in revenue last year. But the problem is that after considering these aspects, it is even more difficult to accept people after so many layoffs. The failure of Activision has nothing to do with the work of the internal development team, but rather is limited to the extremely small amount of IP
Johnson said that the development resources that were previously invested in “Destiny” will now face the company’s “biggest opportunity” and “biggest brand”, but they are not very optimistic about this year’s outlook. There will still be “Call of Duty” in 2019, but after the listing of “Call of Duty 14: World War II” and “Call of Duty 15: Black Ops 4”, Activision Blizzard’s share price has experienced a decline. Although the sales of COD is still strong, the fifteen-year-old veteran has been slightly tired. There is no news in Blizzard’s masterpiece, and the rumored “Diablo 4” did not appear on the Blizzard Carnival last year
The specific reasons for the breakup of Activision and Bungie are not clear. Although the fate of the first generation was unfavorable, as time went on, they gradually enlarged the brand, and “Fate 2” was still very popular. Now Bungie is flying solo with “Destiny” IP. I don’t know what “Destiny 3” will look like without intervening. At the same time, Activision should come out of the shadow of breaking up with Bungie as soon as possible and start looking for a new future outside of Call of Duty