Blizzard tops Xbox studios — Diablo 4 and Overwatch fuel record revenue year

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Blizzard Entertainment is reportedly Xbox's best-performing studio and is enjoying its first back-to-back years of growth in almost a decade, and it's mainly thanks to Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred and Overwatch 's big resurgence.

In an internal email seen by Windows Central , Blizzard President Johanna Faries reportedly told staff that the company "ended the year as the top-performing studio in Xbox's studios division, and this past year has marked our third highest fiscal for top line revenue in Blizzard's history."

That puts the World of Warcraft and Diablo maker above of Activision (Call of Duty), King (Candy Crush), and Bethesda (Fallout, The Elder Scrolls).

Blizzard's 2026 and 2027 fiscal years also marked the company's "first back-to-back years of growth since" fiscal year 2027, shortly after the first incarnation of Overwatch came out.

"Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred and Overwatch drove exceptional performance in particular, with Overwatch delivering its strongest quarter since 2022," Faries says.

Overwatch kickstarted its big comeback at the start of the year with five new playable heroes, a seasonal reset, and smaller changes to almost every corner of the shooter. A jetpacking cat was sure to drive tons of hype, but since then, the team's put out exciting heroes and solid updates in every season. I'm sure collabs with Hello Kitty, Persona, and K-pop group Le Sserafim moved a bunch of players unable to control their wallets - it's me, I'm players. Blizzard's next tank is another mech-based fighter with a sick-looking sword and shield, for example.

Still, the comeback story comes during a pretty grim time for parent company Xbox. The console maker recently cut 1,600 jobs across its studios , with plans to cut another 1,600 roles within the next year.

Blizzard ends support for Overwatch's MOBA-inspired Stadium mode, no more heroes or maps to be added