Yesterday morning, Microsoft held their annual earnings report call with their investors, as well as published the statistics online for the general public to check out. First up in the rundown came Xbox Live active monthly users, which grew to 49 million, making a 33% year-over-year increase. Twitter user Daniel Ahmad, an analyst at Niko Partners, reported that the active Live users topped 50 million for the first time, reaching 55 million. In the hardware realm, Xbox actually didn’t fare as well.
According to the report, Xbox gaming revenue decreased 9%, or $152 million, “due to lower hardware revenue.” The report continues, saying “Xbox hardware revenue decreased 33%, mainly due to a decline in console sold and lower prices of consoles sold,” which are both true as Xboxes were seriously discounted during the long run-up to the holidays last year, as well as some continued discounts reaching the New Year. Even though hardware sold less overall, Xbox Live revenue increased 4%, “driven by higher volume of transactions and revenue per transaction.” That’s also fair, given that Microsoft released ReCore, Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4, and Dead Rising 4 just before and during Q4 2016, and the holidays let many players pick them up with large discounts.
All this comes from Microsoft’s earnings report. To look it over yourself, head to the source link. Knowing all of this, it’s interesting to note that the hardware sales’ shortfall was offset by the money customers spent on their consoles. Q4 ended December 31, so 2017’s first quarter will be one to watch, given that Halo Wars 2 is currently the only big first-party title releasing, and no hint of new hardware until at least E3 this summer.
Source: Microsoft Earnings Report