In Microsoft's follow-up comments, which are summarised in an "update" to the story linked above, Satya Nadella's mention from back in June 2021 that the company was "all in on gaming" was referenced, amongst other things.
Beyond that though, the focus was on the present day. The most interesting stat for us is that Xbox engagement is at an all-time high as we enter 2025 across Xbox, PC and mobile, with the company racking up 500 million monthly players.
Xbox Game Pass also received a massive boost (unsurprisingly) from the addition of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - the game's launch marked the best day ever for the service, and set a record number of subscriptions on its release day.
Here's what Nadella had to say about these milestones a few months ago in an earnings report:
"We set new records for monthly active users in the quarter, as more players than ever play our games across devices and on the Xbox platform. Game Pass also set a new Q1 record for total revenue and average revenue per subscriber. And, as we look ahead, our IP across our studios has never been stronger. Last week’s launch of Black Ops 6 was the biggest Call of Duty release ever, setting a record for day one players, as well as Game Pass subscriber adds on launch day."
So, yeah... Microsoft's come out swinging here a little bit with these facts! We're now particularly interested to see things fare in the next earnings release which arrives on January 29th, where we should learn more about how the likes of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Stalker 2 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 have affected Game Pass in recent months, as well as console sales and the Xbox division's ever-increasing content and service revenue.
Whatever happens though, it should be a fascinating year ahead for the business.