Leaked Internal Email Officially Reveals Xbox's Top-Performing Studio
Blizzard Was Officially Xbox's Top-Performing Studio In FY26 Thanks To Diablo And Overwatch
Thanks to the historic $68.7 billion Activision acquisition, Blizzard now operates as a separate entity under Xbox. And clearly, it's paying off.
In a leaked internal email shared by Windows Central ahead of BlizzCon, Blizzard president Johanna Faries claimed that the studio was Xbox's top performer in fiscal year 2026.
"The weekend will reflect the bold and collaborative work of everyone reading this," she said. "It's my hope that the event can shine a light on the work underway at Blizzard, and that it can serve as a powerful springboard into a new era of momentum and excitement behind our mission to bring joy and belonging for communities worldwide.
"In FY26 Blizzard ended the year as the top-performing studio in Xbox's studios division," she continued. "And this past year has marked our third-highest fiscal for top line revenue in Blizzard's history."
Overwatch Saw Its Strongest Quarter In Four Years
Fairies explained that FY26 is the first time in a decade that Blizzard has seen consecutive quarters of growth. "Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred and Overwatch drove exceptional performance in particular, with Overwatch delivering its strongest quarter since 2022," she said.
Blizzard might be on the up, but Activision and King saw a slump in FY26 after the disappointing launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and a difficult year for Candy Crush. There have also been significant layoffs across the board at Xbox, with studios spun off as independent — including Double Fine, which faced subsequent layoffs. And despite its success, not even Blizzard was exempt, facing "comparatively minimal" cuts.
As for the other top performers, according to Bloomberg, the acquisition of Minecraft developer Mojang has proven an equally lucrative deal for Xbox Game Studios. According to its sources, "Profits from Minecraft, considered one of the most successful video games in the world, were used to fund the rest of the gaming portfolio," helping the console giant to weather a rough generation.
However, new leadership, including CEO Asha Sharma, believes that Xbox has not invested enough in Minecraft, and so now Mojang will report directly to her.