Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has heaped praise on Microsoft's gaming division during a fourth quarter earnings call, and revealed that Xbox Game Pass is seeing "record subscriber growth." (via VGC).
Nadella didn't give any specific figures away, but noted that the growth was happening across Xbox One and PC, and added that there are now “nearly 100 million Xbox Live players around the world”.
Microsoft also highlighted yesterday that Xbox content and services revenue increased by 65% ($1.2 billion) year-on-year for the three month period ending June 30, 2020, and that Xbox hardware revenue also increased by 49%.
In Microsoft's earnings call, Satya Nadella called it "simply a breakthrough quarter for gaming":
“It was simply a breakthrough quarter for gaming. We saw record engagement and monetisation led by strength on and off console as people everywhere turned to gaming to connect, socialise and play with others.”
What do you make of Satya Nadella's comments? Share your thoughts below.
[source videogameschronicle.com]
Comments 13
PC will be a huge factor there as well which is great - it's so seamless downloading and installing games on the PC through that service as well.
Gamepass is a huge bargain, I'm paid up for more than a year so I can just play games without worrying about buying them
Xbox hardware increasing could be because here in the uk the Xbox One X dropped to £230-£250 during lockdown, it pretty much sold out everywhere because it was cheaper than the One S. Possibly could be the boost in gamepass users too as it comes with a month trial and just before it’s up you get offered to try ultimate for a £1, why wouldn’t you
Personally, I don't like and applaud the growth of Game Pass. To me, it's a sign of how one of my favorite hobbies is turning into something more and more of a completely disposable nature, relinquishing increasingly more rights to developers and publishers, taking them away from the consumer, and I truly don't understand how so many people welcome that with open arms, because it's NOT beneficial to the consumer at ALL.
I guess I'm just too old to conform to this lesser format of gaming, since I want to be in control of what I play and when I play it, not being dictated by what's on offer this week or this month, let alone having to rush to play a certain title, out of fear that it may not be available for a long enough time, seeing as games are being removed left and right, on a weekly basis.
Game Pass is the best deal in gaming & far surpasses what the competition has. No surprise that it is doing so well. 👍🏻
Great numbers, still the best deal in gaming! I'm sure it'll continue to grow!
@ThanosReXXX Im in my early 30s and completely agree with you. I subscribe to the old school.
For me I still make third party purchases on Xbox. I subscribe for the first party games which MS would never rotate.
I do agree with you on the wider issue though. Sometimes progress has downsides sadly!
@ThanosReXXX
I understand that view. However GP is only an option. You can still buy games instead or in addition to GP. Of course things may change and we may start to see GP getting games first or even exclusively, and the price may go up. But at the minute it’s an extremely good value option alongside other purchasing methods.
@Jaxx420 Well, I guess we'll eventually all have to yield, especially what with Xbox Live Gold being removed, but I'm not liking it, not one bit. I just renewed my Gold for another year, so at least I don't have to worry about it yet.
@AJDarkstar Yeah, I feel the same way, but as mentioned to the other user above, I suppose we'll eventually have to, or just not play or buy online at all anymore, so we'll see how that goes in the near future...
@electrolite77 Well, in the near future, it'll more than likely be the ONLY option, seeing as Microsoft is removing Xbox Live Gold, and along with that, sadly enough, probably also Games with Gold, meaning all we're left with is this "Netflix for games" crap, which I'm simply not interested in. Not now, not ever.
Seeing as most of my friends have stopped playing online anyways, and the only one that still does is firmly lodged into his Destiny clans, so he plays nothing else, I primarily use Xbox Live Gold for the "free" games, so that sole remaining pleasure is going to be taken away from me as well, from the looks of it.
Unless of course, Games with Gold will still remain inside Game Pass Ultimate as well, in which case it might still be worth considering, but if it isn't, then I honestly don't know if I'll ever subscribe to it, after my current, newly acquired 12 month subscription for Xbox Live Gold ends.
I bought 3 years worth of Live Gold off Amazon last night and upgraded it to GamePass Ultimate. With all the first party game’s coming to XBox in the coming year, it felt like a crazy obvious thing to do. First download: The Bards Tale ARPG!
@ThanosReXXX I really doubt they will get rid of games with gold. It will just be part of GP Ultimate. That might be more expensive than Gold for just the free games, but can always buy up to 36 months of Gold and convert it now to GPU for a dollar. At least it would freeze your Gold pricing for another 3 years.
@Tharsman Hm, interesting idea. I might just do that, depending on how things go...
Makes sense, it's by far the best deal as far as gaming goes and it's available on both consoles and PC. Best of all it's a proper download service so you don't have to be streaming anything.
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