EA and Activision Make A LOT of Money From Microtransactions

EA and Activision Make A LOT of Money From Microtransactions

Publishers EA and Activision Blizzard made an insane amount of money through microtransactions, charging customers after they already bought the game.

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EA and Activision Make A LOT of Money From Microtransactions

Publishers EA and Activision Blizzard continue to make obscene amounts of money through microtransactions, something which many people believe to be continually ruining some of today’s best competitive games. In the old days, “Season Passes” would add DLC to games like Call of Duty and Battlefield, offering new maps, modes, and other goodies to players who invested beyond the typical $60 launch price of a new video game. In recent years, the trend has shifted away from this model, especially in multiplayer games. Nowadays, in games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Battlefield V, and Star Wars: Battlefront II, all players have access to all maps, but are given the opportunity to choose to spend additional money on cosmetic (or pay-to-win) microtransactions.

MTX often come in the form of lootboxes, “surprise mechanics” that can award a precious new cosmetic skin or high quality weapon, or a useless sticker or item for a character the player doesn’t use. The latest trend is the Battle Pass, a progression system which allows players to pay for the right to earn rewards through playing. While Battle Passes are arguably an improvement over lootboxes, they’re nevertheless just another way for big publishers to get completionists, gambling addicts, and compulsive spenders to invest additional money into a product they already bought.

The worst thing about MTX is that they work. In fact, they’re extremely effective in getting customers to spend many hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single game. Both Activision and EA, two of the biggest publishers in the industry, released their quarterly earnings reports, and the results are staggering. As reported by Gamespot, Activision made $956 million through “in-game net bookings,” their fancy term for microtransactions. This encompasses games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty Mobile, World of Warcraft, and an assortment of popular mobile games. Meanwhile, EA made $789 million from “live services,” which includes revenue games like Anthem and the ever-popular sports games, particularly FIFA’s Ultimate Team mode.

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Companies like EA and Activision rake in billions of dollars through microtransactions. Yet, early last year, Activision chose to lay off 800 workers on the heels of some of its strongest financial gains ever. Executives like Bobby Kotick bring in million dollar salaries that are buoyed by tens of millions in bonuses. Simply put, there’s something hugely wrong within the video game industry, especially in its biggest companies.

Even for video game enthusiasts who go to unreasonably lengths to defend the darker side of capitalism, there’s also the simple fact that MTX ruin great video games. All of the best customization options in Call of Duty, like voice lines and character skins that would add variety to the epic Warzone mode, are locked behind a paywall and become symbols of avarice rather than sportsmanship. In terms of both the industry at large and the products produced, video games would be so much better with just a little less greed.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/ea-activision-blizzard-mtx-amount-profit-how-much/

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