Blizzard is now reportedly Microsoft's top studio, according to leaked email
Overview & Key Takeaways
"This past year has marked our third highest fiscal for top line revenue in Blizzard's history."
The studio behind Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch just had its third-biggest year for top line revenue ever, according to a leaked email. The email (via Windows Central) reportedly contained Blizzard president Johanna Faries praising the team for finishing off FY26 as "the top-performing studio in Xbox's studios division."
"Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred and Overwatch drove exceptional performance in particular, with Overwatch delivering its strongest quarter since 2022," she wrote. She said Overwatch has been growing for multiple consecutive years for the first time since its release, and that Blizzcon 2026 should "serve as a powerful springboard into a new era of momentum."
Notably, this success is despite the fact that Microsoft is a pressure target and Xbox is a priority target of the BDS movement protesting the involvement of corporations in Israel's ongoing genocide of Palestinians. And while Blizzard seemingly hasn't been pummeled by Xbox's 3,200-layoff "reset" the way studios like Double Fine and Zenimax have, a huge portion of the job cuts have yet to land.
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Rumors are aswirl as to what's coming at the next Blizzcon, the first of what used to be an annual convention since 2023. A Starcraft shooter and a remixed follow-up to World of Warcraft Classic have both been speculated about endlessly. But each of those big moments, as well as diversions like WoW's Dungeons & Dragons crossover, seem to carry a big fat asterisk with the unfinished turmoil at Microsoft hanging overhead.
It seems clear that Xbox will be relying on the studio to help shore up its so-so financials as it attempts to "return to growth" by FY27—just two years after its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard resulted directly in 1,900 job cuts and at least one major game cancellation.
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