Overwatch's Latest Seasonal Event Was Its Most Popular Ever

Overwatch is coming up on its second anniversary--and the game is still doing really well. Activision Blizzard today announced as part of its latest earnings report that the hero shooter "continues to add new players," almost 24 months after its release in May 2016.

Not only that, but the company said "engagement remains strong." Speaking further to this, the publisher revealed that Overwatch's latest seasonal event, Retribution, had a "higher participation rate than any prior event." Retribution was a multi-week event that featured a new mode and lots of new skins to collect (or pay for). The event wrapped up earlier this week.

Part of what is helping Overwatch remain popular apparently is the Overwatch League. The first season kicked off in January, and Activision reported that "millions" of people watch every week. The playoffs are coming up this summer, and those should draw even more viewers.

The Overwatch League has helped "increased engagement for the franchise overall," Activision Blizzard said. The number of combined hours spent playing and watching Overwatch has improved throughout the year, the publisher said.

The new Activision Blizzard earnings report for the quarter ended March 31 showed GAAP revenue of $1.97 billion, which set a record for Q1 and is an improvement over $1.73 billion during the same period last year. Revenue from digital sources reached a new quarterly record of $1.46 billion.

"Activision Blizzard had another strong quarter, growing year-over-year, setting top and bottom line records, and over-performing guidance," Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement. "Our continued ability to set new records speaks to the quality of our teams and the breadth and enduring nature of our portfolio of franchises against the backdrop of a large and growing interactive market. As we look ahead, our innovative core gaming pipeline, as well as initiatives like mobile, esports, and advertising, will continue to drive growth for our business."

You can read Activision's full earnings report here.

After the report came out, Activision Blizzard management answered questions from analysts. Among the topics discussed were the battle royale genre and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Check out GameSpot's stories below to learn more.

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