Microsoft’s gaming revenue grew 51 per cent for the quarter ended December 31, 2020.
“We surpassed $5 billion in revenue for the first time this quarter, as we expand our opportunity to reach the world’s three billion gamers, wherever they play,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft during the earnings call for its FY21 Q2 results.
The growth in gaming was driven by multiple factors including the launch of its latest generation gaming consoles Xbox Series X and Series S.
“The launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S was the most successful in our history, with the most devices ever sold in a launch month,” Nadella said.
Xbox hardware revenue grew 86 per cent driven by the launch. Apart from this, Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass video game subscription service also witnessed a growth in subscribers. Game Pass now has 18 million subscribers. Xbox Live, its online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service also witnessed a surge in usage with over 100 million monthly active users.
Overall, Xbox content and services revenue increased 40 per cent (up 38 per cent in constant currency).
With cloud gaming on the rise, Nadella said, “Game developers are benefiting too, as they turn to us to reach more players and scale their games using the power of our cloud. We exceeded $2 billion in revenue from third-party titles this quarter for the first time.”
The tech giant will also be bringing cloud gaming in Game Pass to iOS devices and Windows PCs over the next few months, Nadella said.