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Overwatch Is Blizzard's Fastest-Growing Franchise
During today's Activision Blizzard first-quarter 2017 earnings call, the company announced that Overwatch has become the fastest-growing franchise at Blizzard. With over 30 million players accumulated over the course its first year and over $1 billion in revenue, Activision Blizzard is pleased with how Blizzard's newest IP is performing. This makes Overwatch Activision Blizzard's eighth billion-dollar franchise in its portfolio.
In addition to the performance of the game, Activision Blizzard sees a lot of value in both the franchise's reach in other mediums such as comics and shorts, as well as the upcoming Overwatch League, an esports league that Activision Blizzard hopes to launch later this year.
Overwatch launched last May to widespread critical acclaim. In the time since launch, Overwatch has added more content and various seasonal events to drive engagement and revenue.
[Source: Activision Blizzard's First-Quarter Financial Results]
Our Take
We've watched as Overwatch's user-base has ballooned over the last year, but I don't know if anyone expected it to achieve this level of success this fast. I'm still playing on a near-daily basis, and it seems as though I'm far from alone.
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