Sales figures, studio buyouts, financial reports, developers' transfer window, investments ... if these subjects interest you, you are in the right place. We offer you an update on the business news of the past week.
MICROSOFT AND SEGA FORM A "STRATEGIC ALLIANCE" AROUND THE CLOUD
Switch, Microsoft x Sega, Take-Two ... the business news of the week
Last May, Sega presented its shareholders with a new initiative called "Super Game". A project still unclear for the moment, knowing that nothing concrete is expected on the market before the 2025/2026 financial year, but which is particularly ambitious. And to help it achieve its goals, the Japanese publisher can count on the help of Microsoft. The two firms have reached an agreement in principle for a strategic alliance that will allow Sega to rely on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to "produce world-class games in a next-generation development environment". Sega doesn't say more, but does share some keywords like "global", "online", "community", and "license usage". Remember that Sega has already used Microsoft's Azure servers to host the western version of the online game Phantasy Star Online 2, available only on PC and Xbox.
We are very pleased to announce today that we are considering a strategic alliance with Microsoft to help develop Sega's new Super Game initiative as well as to build a next-generation game development environment. By considering a strategic partnership with Microsoft, we seek to advance the development of our games so that our titles can be enjoyed by fans around the world. In this regard, we want to build an alliance that utilizes both Sega's powerful game development capabilities and Microsoft's cutting-edge development technology and environment. Yukio Sugino, President and COO at Sega Corporation.
Sega has played such an iconic role in the gaming industry and has been a great partner over the years. We look forward to working together as they explore new ways to create unique gaming experiences for the future using Microsoft's cloud technologies. Together, we'll reimagine the way games are created, hosted and operated, with the goal of adding more value to gamers and Sega. Sarah Bond, vice president at Microsoft Corporation.
ACTIVISION BLIZZARD EXCEEDS ITS FORECASTS, BUT PUSHES DIABLO 4 AND OVERWATCH 2
Switch, Microsoft x Sega, Take-Two ... the business news of the week
The recent departures from Activision Blizzard, amid accusations of harassment and discrimination, are not without consequences for the business of the company. On the occasion of its quarterly report, the American firm announced that Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 will be released "later than initially planned" on its internal roadmap. A priori, we should not therefore wait for them before 2023 at least. Despite these postponements, Blizzard still promises to release "a significant dose of content" next year. The mobile game Diablo Immortal is still scheduled for the first half of 2022.
It should be remembered that in recent months, Overwatch 2 has seen its emblematic director Jeff Kaplan as well as its production manager Chacko Sonny leave, while Diablo 4 has lost its director Luis Barriga (replaced in October by Joe Shely). And the departures don't end there as Blizzard co-chair Jen Oneal has announced her resignation, leaving Mike Ybarra to run the studio on his own. The duo had been propelled to the head of operations only three months ago after the forced departure of J. Allen Brack. In a press release, Jen Oneal explains that she will be fully committed to the Women In Games International association, which aims to guarantee equality and diversity in the video game industry.
Despite these setbacks, Activision Blizzard is heading for another record year on the financial front. The firm achieved a third quarter above expectations, with 1.7 billion euros in sales and 551 million euros in net profit. With 245 million active users, King (Candy Crush) increased its turnover by 22% to reach its new record: 562 million euros. Driven by the Call of Duty ecosystem, Activision records 119 million active users and 553 million euros in turnover. Finally, Blizzard was able to count on the launch of Diablo II: Resurrected to increase its turnover by 20% to 425 million euros, but the number of active users is down (again) by 13% and thus drops to 26 million.
Activision Blizzard Results
Period Turnover Profit
operational Net profit
July to September 2021 1.7 billion euros 711 million euros 551 million euros
July to September 2020 1.6 billion euros 671 million euros 521 million euros
NINTENDO: 92.87 MILLION SWITCHES DISTRIBUTED AND A MARIO KART 8 DELUXE RECORD
Nintendo has unveiled its financial results for its first fiscal semester, running from April to September 2021. The figures are logically down compared to last year's record financial year, which benefited from the containment effect and the launch Animal Crossing New Horizons, but they remain at remarkable levels: 4.7 billion euros in turnover and 1.3 billion in net profit. The Kyoto firm is well on its way to having its second best fiscal year since the launch of the Switch in March 2017, with total expected turnover of 12 billion euros and net profit of 2.6 billion euros. euros. The builder recalls the upcoming release of headlines like Pokémon Sparkling Diamond / Sparkling Pearl (November 19), Pokémon Legends: Arceus (January 28, 2022), Kirby and the Forgotten World (Spring 2022), Splatoon 3 (2022), Bayonetta 3 ( 2022), Mario + The Raving Rabbids Sparks of Hope (2022) and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 (2022).
Nintendo results
Period Turnover Operating profit Net profit
April to September 2021 4.7 billion euros 1.6 billion euros 1.3 billion euros
April to September 2020 5.8 billion euros 2.2 billion euros 1.6 billion euros
Switch, Microsoft x Sega, Take-Two ... the business news of the week
Nintendo sold 8.28 million Switch over the semester, against 12.53 million in the same period in 2020. The manufacturer explains that the shortage of semiconductors prevents it from producing as many consoles as expected. Its goal is now to distribute 24 million Switch over the entire fiscal year (April 2021 to March 2022) instead of 25.5 million for the previous goal, which remains particularly high and above the best years. from any PlayStation console. As of September 30, 2021, Nintendo has distributed 92.87 million Switches worldwide, including 16.5 million Switch Lite. It remains ahead of the Wii and the PS4, but behind the Nintendo DS, over an equivalent period of marketing. As for the number of Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, it stands at 32 million.
Switch, Microsoft x Sega, Take-Two ... the business news of the week
On the game sales side, the top 10 is not moving. With its 38.74 million copies, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remains at the top and exceeds the sales of Mario Kart Wii (37.38 million). Above all, it becomes the best-selling game in Nintendo history, if we exclude Wii Sports (82.9 million) and Super Mario Bros. (40.24 million) which were mostly supplied with their console. We also discover the first sales figures of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, New Pokémon Snap and Mario Golf: Super Rush, respectively sold to 3.60 million, 2.19 million and 1.94 million copies. Note that New Pokémon Snap is not distributed by Nintendo in Japan, but by The Pokémon Company, and that the figures for this territory are therefore missing.
Finally, we can note that 93.89 million Switch games were sold between April and September 2021 (against 100.25 million last year), of which 70% Nintendo games (82% last year) and 45% download (47% last year), for a total of 681 million.
The 10 biggest first-party successes of the Switch
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - 38.74 million
Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 34.85 million
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- 25.71 million
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 24.13 million
Pokémon Sword / Shield - 22.64 million
Super Mario Odyssey - 21.95 million
Super Mario Party - 16.48 million
Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu / Eevee - 13.83 million
Splatoon 2 - 12.68 million
Ring Fit Adventure - 12.21 million
Other figures announced by Nintendo
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe - 11.48 million
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - 7.45 million
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD - 3.60 million
New Pokémon Snap - 2.19 million (not including sales in Japan)
Mario Golf: Super Rush - 1.94 million
Miitopia - 1.37 million
TAKE-TWO: CONTRACTED RESULTS, CANCELLATION AND POSTPONEMENT
Switch, Microsoft x Sega, Take-Two ... the business news of the week
On the Take-Two Interactive side, it is the results of the July-September 2021 quarter that we discover. The firm is delighted with increased revenue thanks to contributions from NBA 2K22, NBA 2K21, GTA 5, GTA Online, Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Online, Borderlands 3, Civilization 6 and mobile games Two Dots and Dragon City. On the other hand, its profits collapsed. In question: the cancellation of a big unannounced game, which led to a depreciation of 45 million euros. Take-Two does not specify which game it is it, but according to journalist Jason Schreier from Bloomberg, it would be a project called Volt developed by Hangar 13 (Mafia 3). This new license would have been rebooted several times since the start of its production in 2017 and would therefore never have found the right formula. According to Kotaku, it was about a TPS live service in the vein of Destiny.
Switch, Microsoft x Sega, Take-Two ... the business news of the week
The other important information in this report is the postponement of the tactical game Marvel's Midnight Suns from Firaxis (XCOM, Civilization) and 2K Games. First scheduled for next March, it is now expected in the second half of 2022. Take-Two can still count on the releases of GTA Trilogy (November 11), OlliOlli World (early 2022), GTA V / GTA Online on PS5 and Xbox Series (March 2022), WWE 2K22 (March 2022) and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (March 2022) to complete its fiscal year. Over the full year, the American group anticipates a turnover of at least 2.8 billion euros and a net profit of over 275 million euros.
Take-Two Interactive Results
Period Turnover Operating profit Net profit
July to September 2021 € 743 million € 17.3 million € 8.9 million
July to September 2020 728 million euros 99.6 million euros 86 million euros
Let's finish with some sales figures. GTA 5 now has 155 million copies sold, five million more than in the previous quarter. Red Dead Redemption 2 and Borderlands 3 each earned one million sales, reaching 39 million and 14 million respectively in total. Finally, NBA 2K22 sold 5 million copies during its launch month (September), a result in line with its predecessor.
Take-Two's biggest franchises
Grand Theft Auto: 355 million sales
NBA 2K: 118 million sales
Borderlands: 78 million sales
Red Dead Redemption: 62 million sales
Civilization: 59 million sales
Bioshock: 38 million sales
IN BRIEF IN THE BUSINESS NEWS OF THE WEEK
Electronic Arts also unveiled its financial results, more than positive: 1.5 billion euros in turnover and 253 million euros in net profit, the second best fiscal quarter (July-September) in its history.
Devolver Digital entered the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of $ 950 million. The opportunity to learn on this new site for shareholders that the publisher has received an investment from the Chinese group NetEase and Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe, which respectively hold 7.97% and 5.03% of the capital. We also discover that Devolver bought the studios Dodge Roll (Enter the Gungeon), Nerial (Reigns) and FireFly Studios (Stronghold), in addition to Croteam (Serious Sam), last year. Finally, Devolver has released 90 games since its birth in 2009, 90% of which have been profitable.
As of October, Riot Games recorded 180 million active players across League of Legends, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Legends of Runeterra, and Teamfight Tactics. A new record for the American firm.
Capcom has updated its list of Platinum games (those that have exceeded one million sales). Main changes: Street Fighter V passing the six million mark and the entry of Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin with 1.3 million sales (as of September 30, 2021).
Publisher Rogue Games has announced a partnership with Bloober Team (The Medium, Layers of Fear ...) to develop a new PC and console game based on an original concept. The Polish studio is already at work on two big productions for Take-Two and Konami.
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