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Microsoft's Q3 earnings report is in, and things are looking up for Xbox. The Xbox business showcased another quarter of growth across game sales and subscriptions/services. A big portion of this growth is being attributed to Microsoft's increasingly strong presence on PlayStation.
Xbox grew by 5% overall compared to the same quarter the previous year. This was primarily driven in revenue from Xbox content and services, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella specifically highlighting Game Pass, Call of Duty and Minecraft as key driving factors.
Nadella seems pleased with Microsoft's shift to multiplatform game releases. For the quarter, Microsoft was the top-selling publisher on both PlayStation and Xbox. As reported by VGC, Nadella stated on the call:
“We continue to transform the business and focus on margin expansion, as we bring our games to over 500 million monthly active users across devices. We ended the quarter as the top publisher by pre-orders and pre-installs on both Xbox and the PlayStation Store. PC Game Pass revenue increased over 45% year-over-year.”
With results trending positive, it is likely that Microsoft will lean more into this multiplatform direction moving forward. There are rumours that iconic exclusives like Gears of War and Halo could make the transition to PlayStation for the first time. It is also rumoured that Bethesda's 2023 Xbox exclusive, Starfield, may come to PS5 later this year.
In more recent months, Forza 5 and Indiana Jones have both become available on PS5. DOOM: The Dark World, developed by id Software and published by Bethesda, is launching as a multi-platform title and will be available on PS5 from day-one.
KitGuru Says: Despite Xbox's growth, console hardware sales have dipped. The new revenue coming in from game sales on PlayStation and Game Pass growth is keeping Xbox earnings trending in the right direction.
