The amount of money that Microsoft makes from its Xbox Game Pass service has become less of a secret thanks to new documents that have emerged as part of Brazil’s inquiry into the Windows maker’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which was recently approved by CADE, the country’s national competition regulator.
Xbox Game Pass managed to generate $2.9 billion from consoles in 2021, according to a portion of the paperwork. Further data implies that Xbox Game Pass made up roughly 18% of Microsoft’s total yearly Xbox revenues ($16.28 billion) and nearly 30% of its Games and Services revenues ($12.581 billion) in the previous calendar year.
From a TweakTown report:
We can take that even further and align those values with subscribers as of that period. Microsoft has sporadically revealed Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers so we can’t be 100% accurate, however between August 2021 and March 2022, Xbox Game Pass went from 15 million to 18 million subscribers. So we can pinpoint a range $2.9 billion revenues generated from 15-18 million subscribers across both PC and consoles.
Remember the revenue figure is just for consoles and does not include PC Game Pass earnings.
Microsoft currently offers three Xbox Game Pass plans, including an Ultimate plan that adds Xbox Live Gold, EA Play, and the ability to play hundreds of high-quality games on not only console and PC, but also the cloud. The company has also teased a new Game Pass Friends & Family plan that will allow the account owner and up to four players to enjoy the perks of Game Pass Ultimate for a monthly price.
Discussion (4 replies)
Join Discussion →Huh. Who would have thought all those $1 Taco Bell giveaways would add up? I guess if they forget to cancel and get hit with a few months at full price…
This is the same market strategy as loan purchases. You are basically buying games on a planned payment. Because $10 every month gets mixed in with other expenses and doesn't seem significant. Even if you ultimately end up paying more than you'd have spent on games.
I have to wonder how many full price purchases were negated by this buffet style gaming service. But I suppose it is more lucrative to have a billion people paying a monthly sub than millions buying games here and there? It doesn't really make sense to me.
It's all about steady and projectable income. This is the wet dream of investors, guaranteed returns. That's why gaming companies try desperately to force subs over intermittent individual purchases. Even if ultimately they make slightly more money in the end with individual purchases a guaranteed steady income is preferred by the market.