An announcement prior to Blizzcon 2016 indicated how much of a success Activision-Blizzard's "Overwatch" has been for the mega-publisher, and the goal of future DLC packs. Phenomenal success for Blizzard through "Overwatch" exceeded expectations.
Just after a month of its release, "Overwatch" had 10 million players. By August, the number of "Overwatch" players had climbed to 15 million. By October 11 Blizzard announced a colossal number of 20 million "Overwatch" players as VentureBeat cites.
Oh, you think we forgot #BlizzCon2016? Nope! pic.twitter.com/j13DOUXWml
— Twitch Esports (@TwitchEsports) November 2, 2016
This "Overwatch" number marks a growth record for Blizzard. As a developer Blizzard has a history of success over the years cannot be described as anything less than remarkable.
Sometimes, it's the quiet moments you appreciate most... | Hero fanart by snatti89 (https://t.co/L1DntDLVU6) pic.twitter.com/e7kJNSyUue — Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) November 3, 2016
The success of "Overwatch" has pushed Activision's profits for the year, prior to the release of late year big-hitters such as "Destiny: Rise of Iron" and "Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare," which are relatively fresh to the market. It is unknown yet how Activision's first person shooter legendary franchise "Call Of Duty" will fare against the competing "Titanfall 2" and "Battlefield 1" from Electronic Arts.
With news of phenomenal growth and financial success from "Overwatch" for Activision and Blizzard comes the inevitable question of what is coming next. Particularly what "Overwatch" DLC is coming from Blizzard.
By far Blizzard has had the two-themed calendar DLC events since "Overwatch" was released, namely the "Summer Games" and "Halloween Terror. These demonstrated to Blizzard the appetite for such a DLC release strategy by enthusiastic "Overwatch" players.
Blizzard therefore announced they will be pursuing to release two more themed "Overwatch" events in the future. Whatever Blizzard decides to base these two releases on could lead "Overwatch" players to possible Christmas, Valentines, Easter or Winter Games as potential DLC themes in future.
During this and the last console generation, downloadable contents has proved to be an essential strategy for developers as Blizzard to increase their profit margins in the face of higher development costs and new technologies. "Overwatch" - a retail game from Blizzard and Activision - uses a revenue mechanism that is derived from Free to Play games but is yet entirely optional. It has been enough of a success to have allowed Blizzard to fund their DLC releases up until now as free patches.
"Overwatch" is currently available on PS4, Xbox One and PC. What "Overwatch" DLC are you hoping for Blizzard to deliver?
