Call Of Duty: Warzone Mobile is a flop as more mobile spin-offs tank

Despite the success of Of Duty: Mobile and Warzone on console, the battle royale’s mobile version has failed to catch on.

While Call Of Duty is famous as one of the biggest juggernauts in the modern gaming landscape, the success of Call Of Duty: Mobile is perhaps overlooked – at least in the West.

Released in 2019 and created by Chinese developer TiMi Studio Group, the team behind Arena Of Valor and Pokémon Unite, the mobile spin-off has raked in over $3 billion in lifetime revenue. According to ‘s financial results from Q2 2023, ‘over half of all engagement’ with the Call Of Duty franchise is on mobile.

The success of Call Of Duty: Mobile led Activision to launch a mobile version of the series’ battle royale mode, Warzone, in March earlier this year, but it hasn’t fared nearly as well.

According to Stephen Totilo’s Game File newsletter, Call Of Duty: Warzone Mobile has only made $13 million in revenue within its first six months. In comparison, Call Of Duty: Mobile made $144 million within its first six months.

This tracks with the low launch numbers. As reported by PocketGamer.biz, Warzone Mobile hit $1.4 million in consumer spending within its first four days, next to Call Of Duty: Mobile’s $17.7 million in player spending within its first week.

While these numbers would be huge for most developers, in the context of Call Of Duty it is likely far below Activision’s expectations.

There are various reasons behind Warzone Mobile’s relative failure, but several games of the same ilk have struggled in recent years.

EA shut down Apex Legends Mobile last year, and stopped development on Battlefield Mobile, while Ubisoft delayed mobile versions for both Rainbow Six and The Division into 2025.

Next up is Destiny: Rising, developed by NetEase in collaboration with Bungie. It’s aiming to give the Destiny franchise a new lease of life but the recent track record suggests it’s becoming increasingly difficult to land a hit in the mobile space, between heavyweights like Candy Crush Saga and Honor Of Kings.

While the mobile market is the most profitable in the games industry, recent reports suggest it is starting to plateau. In our interview with Chinese developer Amazing Seasun Games, the executive producer behind Mecha Break outlined how the Chinese mobile market has become oversaturated, which has led to a pivot towards games for PC and console like Black Myth Wukong.

Microsoft and Sony have both made moves into the mobile market, as they both aim to broaden revenue beyond consoles. Nintendo has also released several mobile games over the years, although the majority have since been shut down.

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