Sony Interactive Entertainment might have just revealed accidentally some very sensitive details about Call of Duty revenue data.
PlayStation Slips Up Again
It seems the poorly redacted documents that PlayStation’s legal team submitted recently revealed some interesting new data. This time, however, includes highly sensitive information that should have not been revealed publicly.
According to a report by The Verge, the document revealed the importance of Activision’s Call of Duty business to Sony. The information was redacted with a pen, but some of the details remained clearly visible when the documents were scanned. The documents have been pulled from public viewing after the reports flooded in.
Poorly Redacted Documents
One of the documents submitted by SIE Chief Jim Ryan to the FTC highlighted the level of engagement of Call of Duty players on PlayStation consoles. Here’s what it says:
“In 2021, over [14?] million users (by device) spent 30 percent or more of their time playing Call of Duty, over 6 million users spent more than 70% of their time on Call of Duty, and about 1 million users spent 100% of their gaming time on Call of Duty.
“In 2021, Call of Duty players spent an average of [116?] hours per year playing Call of Duty. Call of Duty players spending more than 70 percent of their time on Call of Duty spent an average of 296 hours on the franchise.”
Importance of Call of Duty for Sony
The document suggests that the Call of Duty games were worth $800 million for PlayStation revenue in the US alone that year and possibly $1.5 billion globally. Way back in 2021, PlayStation confirmed that the Call of Duty software accounted for over $1 billion in sales on PlayStation consoles.
Now if the Call of Duty players’ average annual platform spending on PlayStation hardware, accessories, subscriptions, and services were to be added, the $1.5 billion becomes $15.9 billion a year.
Next Call of Duty Release Window?
The document also revealed that Sony’s marketing deal with Activision includes only one more Call of Duty game. It seems the game is going to be released in late 2023.