Xbox gaming revenue has fallen, but the Game Pass subscriber base continues to grow
Xbox gaming revenue is mostly down on all fronts, but the Game Pass subscriber base still saw growth.
Microsoft released theirs Second quarter financial results for fiscal year 2023 yesterday, and it showed that Xbox gaming revenue was down 13% overall. Xbox content and services, such as Sales such as first-party software and monetization in third-party games fell 12%, but Microsoft notes that this decline is related to a “strong prior-year comparable.” Given that Xbox year 2022 was lackluster compared to last year, that’s not surprising.
However, the financial results Condition That 12% decline “is partially offset by growth in Xbox Game Pass subscriptions.” Xbox hardware sales are also down 13%. During a earnings conference call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Xbox monthly active users surpassed 120 million during the quarter in question, as reported by IGN. Nadella added that Microsoft expects another year-over-year decline in the next quarter due to a situation similar to this quarter.
Video game sales analyst Benji Sales (on Twitter) offered some comments on those financial results, stating that he was less concerned about Xbox’s gaming revenue and software performance and instead that the hardware decline was alarming.
“I worry less about overall gaming revenue and software performance. They’re on the decline, but that’s to be expected given how poor a year Xbox has had for first-party content. The more worrying thing here is the hardware. So early in a generation, we really should be doing it.” I don’t see any declines.”
I worry less about overall gaming revenue and software performance. They’ve failed, but that’s to be expected given how weak Xbox has been for first-party content in a year
The more worrying thing here is hardware. We really shouldn’t see any declines this early in a generation
— Benji Sales (@BenjiSales) January 24, 2023
As Benji-Sales and many others have noted, the past few quarters have been lackluster for Xbox, but 2023 is shaping up to be the biggest year for Xbox Series X/S yet, with games like Redfall, Starfield and Forza Motorsport expected to release.
We should learn more about some of these games in today’s Xbox Developer Direct, and then about Starfield in a Starfield-specific showcase Xbox is planning.
Do these financial results surprise you? Let us know in the comments below!
https://www.gameinformer.com/2023/01/25/xbox-gaming-revenue-down-but-game-pass-subscriber-base-continues-to-grow Xbox gaming revenue has fallen, but the Game Pass subscriber base continues to grow
