Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard continues to save Xbox from disaster, as the corporate records meaningful decline in hardware sales.
If it’s not already clear, from the communication of next-gen hardware and marketing speeches downplaying the console, the Xbox Series X/S is a significant failure.
The console’s decline is visible in Microsoft’s most recent monetary report, for the quarter ending June 30, 2024, in which hardware profits fell 42% year over year. This follows the company’s previous quarterly results, where sales fell 31% from last year.
These effects are particularly grim given that it’s been 4 years since the Xbox Series X/S launched. As a reminder, Nintendo Switch sales, after seven years of life cycle, recorded a 12. 6% year-over-year drop in Nintendo’s latest monetary report.
Elsewhere in Microsoft’s financial results, the acquisition of Activision Blizzard helped fill in the cracks. Xbox content and services revenue, including Game Pass, was up 61% year-over-year, but Activision Blizzard contributed 58 net issuances. Continue with that figure, so it only goes up 3% if you take that out of the equation.
The scenario is similar in terms of gambling winnings, which generally increase to 44%. Without the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which contributed 48 points of net effect, Microsoft’s gaming earnings would have fallen 4%.
While Microsoft hasn’t revealed the main points in terms of the number of Game Pass subscribers, it has highlighted a statistic related to active users per month across all platforms, which now includes Amazon Fire TV devices.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, said: “We now have more than 500 million monthly active users across all platforms and devices. Our content pipeline has never been stronger.
In addition to highlighting the Fallout TV show, which increased the number of hours played of Fallout on Game Pass “nearly five times,” Microsoft in particular looked at Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 as an explanation for the optimism, which will be released on the day of the subscription service. one on October 25, 2024.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be a boon in monetary terms, as one of the biggest franchises on the planet, but this is another case where the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which cost Microsoft $69 billion, reinforces the gaps elsewhere.
Earlier this month, Xbox announced plans to increase costs at all levels of Game Pass, which will go into effect starting September 12. Microsoft is also releasing a new white and disc-free edition of Xbox Series X, as well as a 2TB black edition. , later this year. . .
However, those new consoles are unlikely to have a significant impact on hardware sales figures, especially as Microsoft continues to tout its cross-platform strategy and reveal its next-gen plans.
Last month, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that the company runs on a handheld device, following the good luck of the Switch and Steam Deck.
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