In its quarterly earnings call today, Activision announced record income, as well as layoffs for hundreds of employees. Its outlook for income in 2019 is lower, and part of that comes from Blizzard, which will apparently not be releasing any new, significant games this year.
"Turning to Blizzard, we expect materially lower financial performance this year," Activision said on the call. "2018 benefited from the release of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth, whereas we are not planning a major frontline release for 2019."
Blizzard apparently finished the last quarter of 2018 with "softness for its in-game revenues that will take time to stabilize and return to growth."
Ready for the optimistic spin? "While these factors will weigh on Blizzard's financials this year, looking further ahead, Blizzard's pipeline of PC, console, and mobile content is richer than ever, and we expect the significant addition of development resources to accelerate the pace of delivery over time."
As for what will be coming from Blizzard this year: We already know about the mobile spin-off Diablo Immortal, and Warcraft 3 Reforged.
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