Activision Blizzard closes out 2020 with rising revenue and profit

The end of the year brought better-than-expected revenue and profit for Activision Blizzard on both a quarterly and yearly basis.

Revenue for the year ending December 31, 2020 came in at $8.09 billion, up from $6.49 billion the year prior. Full year operating income came in at $2.734 billion, up from $1.607 billion the year before.

On a quarterly basis, Activision Blizzard reported revenue of $2.413, beating both its forecasts of $2 billion and last year's $1.986 billion. Operating income for the quarter likewise saw gains: the figure came to $594 billion for Q4, up from $454 in Q4 2019.

There's always plenty to dig into in Activision Blizzard's financials, but one thing of note mentioned during the quarterly investor presentation is that the company continues to see its digital revenue and net bookings make up a larger slice of that overall whole. It's a trend that started long before today, but its growth that continues to accelerate.

For instance, Activision Blizzard's digital net revenue for the year came in at $6.66 billion, which is higher than its combined revenue from digital and non-digital sources for all of 2019.

Breaking things down into net bookings, which is generally net revenue minus various deferred income, Q4 alone saw $3.051 billion in net bookings, with a good chunk of that--$1.324 billion--coming solely from in-game transactions like DLC and microtransactions.

“In a year filled with adversity our extraordinary employees were determined to provide connection and joy to our 400 million players around the world,” reads a statement from Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. “They accomplished this as well as generating record financial results for our shareholders. Under difficult circumstances, but with the same conviction and focus, they will continue to do so in 2021.”