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Call of Duty net bookings decreased year-over-year in Q1 2022

Activision Blizzard's Q1 2022 earnings report reveals a decrease in net bookings for the Call of Duty franchise.

Donovan Erskine

April 25, 2022 2:35 PM

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Call of Duty is synonymous with Activision as it has long been the publisher’s premier annual release. With that, the first-person shooter franchise has some of the biggest influence over the company’s business. In Activision Blizzard’s Q1 2022 earnings report, the publisher spoke to the franchise’s performance, revealing a decrease in net bookings in year-over-year comparisons.

It’s in Activision Blizzard’s Q1 2022 earnings report that the gaming company revealed the poor net booking results for Call of Duty. “Call of Duty net bookings on console and PC declined year-over-year in the first quarter, reflecting lower premium sales for Call of Duty: Vanguard versus the year-old title and lower engagement in Call of Duty: Warzone. Call of Duty Mobile net bookings were little changed year-over-year.”

Call of Duty: Vanguard’s lackluster performance is cited as a driving force behind the decrease. The latest mainline entry in the series received middling reviews from audiences and failed to hit the impressive sales figures of recent games in the franchise.

As for the future of the Call of Duty franchise, this report reaffirms that the sequel to Modern Warfare, as well as a brand new Warzone experience, are still in development and set to arrive later this year.

Development on this year’s premium and Warzone experiences, led by Infinity Ward, is proceeding very well. This year’s Call of Duty is a sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare, the most successful Call of Duty title to date, and will be the most advanced experience in franchise history. The new free-to-play Warzone experience, which is built from the ground up alongside the premium game, features groundbreaking innovations to be revealed later this year.

Call of Duty net bookings are down in year-over-year comparisons, and it will be interesting to see how that number evolves as the franchise heads in a new direction. For more on the business side of the video game industry, Shacknews is your place.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_