Activision Blizzard missed revenue targets due to "underperformance" of Call of Duty: Vanguard

Call of Duty: Vanguard has missed the mark since launching in September 2021, according to a recent SEC filing detailing Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of publisher Activision Blizzard.

The filing states that the "underperformance" of Call of Duty: Vanguard resulted in Activision Blizzard failing to meet its revenue projections for Q4 2021.

The company cited the potential effects of that underperformance an "execution risk" in its long-range plan, and indicated it could feel the knock-on effects in 2022.

"Activision Blizzard had failed to meet its revenue projections for the fourth quarter of 2021 given the underperformance of the recently launched Call of Duty: Vanguard," reads the filing.

The news tallies with a recent Bloomberg report that claims Activision Blizzard has delayed next year's premium Call of Duty title after a "recent entry" in the series failed to meet exceptions, and comes after the company said Vanguard had delivered "lower premium sales" than its predecessor.

In response to those rumblings, Activision said it has an "exciting slate of premium and free-to-play Call of Duty experiences for this year, next year, and beyond."