In Microsoft’s financial conference call for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, significant updates about the gaming division and Game Pass subscription system were shared. According to CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood, the positive impacts of the Activision Blizzard acquisition are becoming increasingly evident, both financially and operationally.
Game Pass experiences its best period in history!
In the quarter covering July to September 2024, Microsoft’s gaming platforms reached an all-time high in monthly active users. The Game Pass subscription service also set a new record, both in total revenue and average revenue per subscriber on a quarterly basis.
Reflecting on the one-year anniversary of acquiring Activision Blizzard King, Nadella said, “We are focused on long-term growth with high-margin content and services. As we diversify how players access our content, we can clearly see the results of this transformation.”
The recently released *Call of Duty: Black Ops 6* marked the most successful launch period in the series’ history. The game set records for first-day player count and Game Pass subscriber growth. Remarkably, sales on PlayStation and Steam platforms also increased by over 60% compared to last year.
Alongside these positive developments, CFO Amy Hood announced that they expect high single-digit declines in gaming revenue for the current quarter (October-December 2024). This decrease is primarily attributed to a drop in Xbox hardware sales, though Content and Services revenues are expected to remain relatively stable.
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