U.S. video game company Activision Blizzard booked full-year 2022 net income of $1.513 billion (€1.417 billion), which translates into a 43.9 percent contraction from 2021 earnings of $2.699 billion (€2.528 billion).
Revenues, meanwhile, came in at $7.528 billion (€7.05 billion), down 14.5 percent compared to the previous year’s turnover of $8.803 billion (€8.244 billion).
The drop in revenues plus the increase in expenses, which grew to 5,858 million dollars (5,486 million euros), up 5.7 percent, have eroded profits for the fiscal year.
Moreover, in the fourth quarter alone, profit reached 403 million dollars (377.4 million euros), compared to the positive balance of 564 million dollars (528.2 million euros) a year earlier, 28.5 percent less year-on-year, according to the company.
Meanwhile, quarterly revenue was $2.334 billion (€2.186 billion), up 7.9 percent compared to revenue of $2.163 billion (€2.026 billion) in 2021.
The developer is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft for $69 billion (€64.622 billion) in a controversial deal, as it would allow Microsoft to publish games exclusively for its platforms and exclude those of its competitors.
For the same reason, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States asked to block the sale at the end of last year for being detrimental to free competition in the video game market. The European Commission also sent an antitrust warning to Microsoft this February.
«We are excited about this historic year as we prepare to integrate with Microsoft. This merger will allow us to better serve our players, create new opportunities for our employees and enable us to succeed in an increasingly competitive global video game market,» said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
