Blizzard Leads Xbox Studios in Fiscal Year 2026 Performance

Blizzard Entertainment has emerged as the top-performing studio within Microsoft's Xbox division for fiscal year 2026, according to an internal email from Blizzard President Johanna Faries. The announcement comes as the broader Xbox division undergoes significant restructuring and layoffs, highlighting a stark contrast between Blizzard's recent success and challenges elsewhere in the gaming portfolio.

Faries shared the results in an email to staff sent last week, which was subsequently reported by multiple outlets. In the message, she stated that Blizzard ended the 2026 fiscal year, which concluded in July, as the highest-performing studio in Xbox's studios division. She noted that the past year marked the company's third-highest fiscal year for top-line revenue in its history and represented the first time since 2016 that Blizzard achieved consecutive quarters of growth.

The financial performance was driven primarily by the live-service titles Overwatch and Diablo IV. Faries specifically cited the "Lord of Hatred" expansion for Diablo IV, released on April 28, 2026, and the ongoing support for Overwatch as key factors. Overwatch delivered its strongest quarter since 2022, a...