In case there were still any doubts that Overwatch is quite a big thing, let Activision's second-quarter earnings call put them to rest. Analyst Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners said on Twitter that, according to today's Activision Blizzard earnings call, Overwatch hit the 15 million user mark faster than any other game in Blizzard's history, breaking Diablo 3's record as the fastest-selling PC game in China, and surpassing League of Legends in Korean internet cafes with a 30 percent share. It also made an absolute ton of money in the process.
Gamers have spent more than 500 million hours in Overwatch. The game has generated over half a billion dollars. Record quarter.August 4, 2016
This is “Blizzard's best quarter ever,” Ahmad added in a follow-up.
The success of Overwatch contributed significantly to the huge increase in Activision's year-over-year sales, reported by GameInformer to be record-setting $1.57 billion for the quarter. Nearly three-quarters of those revenues—$1.14 billion—were digital, it reported, an eye-popping year-over-year increase of 101 percent.
Overwatch will no doubt get another big push later this year, when the first-ever Overwatch World Cup debuts at BlizzCon 2016. The inaugural tournament will actually begin with fans voting for their favorite players, from a nominated “mix of representatives from each participating country,” to support their respective nations. Once players are selected, teams representing different nations and regions will throw down in best-of-three, single-elimination online tournaments, which will ultimately lead to a 16-team round-robin tournament, and best-of-five single-knockout finals, at BlizzCon.
A full breakdown of the Overwatch World Cup format, and how you can vote for your real-life Overwatch heroes of choice, is up at playoverwatch.com. And while it may not be enough to get you a ticket to the big leagues, since you're here anyway you should have a look at our handy guide to getting good with Soldier: 76, right here.
