Overwatch Helps Blizzard Achieve 46 Million Monthly Users

Thanks to a growing collection of insanely popular games, Blizzard has broken a personal record by reportedly now having over 46 million monthly users across their games.

Due in no small part to big-name titles like Overwatch and Hearthstone, Blizzard brought in some massive numbers for the most recent quarter with millions of total players taking part in each of their games to add to the large player count of monthly returning players. In the official earnings report from Activision Blizzard, the gains in monthly active users (MAUs) for Overwatch were attributed partially to the two seasonal events that took place during the timeframe.

"Blizzard had the biggest quarterly online player community in its history with a record 46 million MAUs, up 38% year‐over‐year," the earnings report read. "The Overwatch community continued to grow more than a year after launch, setting another all‐time MAU record with the release of two seasonal events in the quarter. Hearthstone MAUs grew year‐over‐year and quarter‐over‐quarter to an all‐time record, driven by its expansion, Journey to Un'Goro."

In addition to retaining these monthly users, Blizzard also reported that they had a record high for time that players spent playing each of their hit games like Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Diablo III, all of which had their fair share of incentives during the quarter to keep players invested.

"Blizzard had Q2‐record time spent," the report continued. "In April, Blizzard launched Uprising, an Overwatch seasonal event that included a player‐versus‐environment mode that drew record play time. Overwatch's Anniversary event in May and June also drove strong engagement with record participation in customization items. Time spent in World of Warcraft grew year‐over‐year in the second quarter, and the Legion expansion continued to perform ahead of the prior expansion."

With the recent release of Doomfist into Overwatch and an upcoming Summer Games event that players can look forward to, these numbers are expected to stay strong, if not rise upwards. The other games in Blizzard's stable will only keep the momentum going as well, so the company can likely look forward to similar results as they approach the holiday season.