Activision Blizzard financials reveal gamers are OK with microtransactions

Activision Blizzard kotick leaves after deal report

There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding loot boxes over the past six months and some gamers have been appalled by the way in which they are implemented. EA took the brunt of the fury with Star Wars Battlefront 2, and rightly so.

Recommended Videos

Today’s Activision Blizzard financial results tell a different story, and in general, it appears gamers are more than willing to spend money on loot boxes and other microtransactions.

Today’s financials revealed that Activision Blizzard net revenues were a record $7.02 billion and net revenues from digital channels were a record $5.48 billion.

If these numbers tell us anything it’s that loot boxes and microtransaction are here to stay. Other publishers will be watching these numbers very closely and you can bet we’ll see more microtransaction models, cosmetic and non-cosmetic, appear throughout 2018.

The Star Wars Battlefront 2 controversy which hit EA for a time doesn’t have appeared to have had much of an impact on other gaming communities tied to Activision or Blizzard.

The argument is that loot boxes and microtransactions are gambling and they are often presented in such a way as to encourage more spending which can be addictive. There is no doubt that developers and publishers use tried and tested psychological techniques to encourage gamers to spend more on games they have already paid full price for.

If there is to be any change it’s going to have to come through governmental regulation and countries such as Germany and Sweden are looking at this seriously. For the foreseeable future, microtransactions are going to be an integral part of gaming when it comes to the larger publishers and gamers are going to have to live with that. If gamers want the culture to change then they are going to have to stop throwing money at games.


PC Invasion is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Dragon’s Dogma player discovers a problem with NG+ Pawns being a little overpowered
Dragons Dogma player discovers a problem with NG+ Pawns being a little overpowered
Read Article Dragon’s Dogma 2 player receives both Prey for the Pack quest endings
Prey For The Pack Dragon's Dogma 2
Read Article Baldur’s Gate 3 player found a rare letter from Alfira to the Dark Urge
Baldurs Gate 3 Player Found A Rare Letter From Alfira To The Dark Urge
Related Content
Read Article Dragon’s Dogma player discovers a problem with NG+ Pawns being a little overpowered
Dragons Dogma player discovers a problem with NG+ Pawns being a little overpowered
Read Article Dragon’s Dogma 2 player receives both Prey for the Pack quest endings
Prey For The Pack Dragon's Dogma 2
Read Article Baldur’s Gate 3 player found a rare letter from Alfira to the Dark Urge
Baldurs Gate 3 Player Found A Rare Letter From Alfira To The Dark Urge
Author
Paul Younger
Founder and Editor of PC Invasion. Founder of the world's first gaming cafe and Veteran PC gamer of over 22 years.