Comment on #StopPayingGames

• ampersandrew@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  What? They haven’t been flopping either critically or commercially. Even Overwatch 2 and Diablo Immortal, with vocal dissatisfaction from players, still made tons of money.

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  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Even Overwatch 2 and Diablo Immortal, with vocal dissatisfaction from players, still made tons of money.

    Microsoft reported an initial $570 million operating loss from the acquisition in one quarter alone, citing acquisition-related expenses and costs associated with restructuring.

    Meanwhile, Blizzard experienced a decline of up to 63 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs) across various titles, suffering when releases like Call of Duty failed to meet aggressive sales expectations.

    They’re certainly still generating revenue but the studio hasn’t been profitable in some time.

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    • ampersandrew@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      You are mixing units and data at this point. Acquisitions cost money. Blizzard and Call of Duty come in the same purchase. Call of Duty had a bad release this past year. And none of those things are a measure of how profitable Blizzard games are.

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      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Acquisitions cost money.

        And that drives up costs, which cuts into profit.

        Call of Duty had a bad release this past year.

        Did the developers get paid for their labor?

        none of those things are a measure of how profitable Blizzard games are

        Revenue - Cost = Profit

        This is Business 101.

        But plenty of businesses operate at a loss, when they can generate surplus cash through investment. You don’t need to generate profit to pay wages. In some cases (the AI companies being a great modern example) you can pay incredibly generous salaries without ever turning a profit.

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