Activison continues to boost Xbox revenues but hardware sees further decline
Microsoft's results for the final quarter of its financial year are in, showing continued growth in overall gaming revenue while Xbox console sales once again decline.
The acquisition of Activision Blizzard was cited as a key factor in the growth recorded, with revenue from Call of Duty and the publisher's other properties now converted from third party to first party.
The growth of Xbox contributed to a solid year for Microsoft overall with total revenue from all of its businesses rising 15% year-on-year to nearly $65 billion.
For the three months ended June 30, 2024
Xbox content and services revenue saw the biggest growth within Microsoft's More Personal Computing division, up 61% compared to the same quarter last year. This is expected to see growth "in the low to mid-50s" in the next quarter, again thanks to the Activision acquisition.
In fact, the Activision acquisition drove gaming's growth far beyond any other More Personal Computing segment, with the next largest growth being the 19% for search and news advertising.
Total revenue for More Personal Computing was up 14% year-on-year to $15.9 billion.
Xbox hardware revenue declined 42% year-on-year. Microsoft's chief financial officer Amy Hood told investors during the earnings call that this is expected to decline again in the next quarter (three months ended September 30, 2024).
Hood also added that first-party games content saw a stronger-than-expected performance, although this was partially offset by the performance of third-party content (and, again, Activision games are no longer third-party).
Elsewhere in the earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella said Xbox has 500 million monthly active users across all platforms and devices, and that the platform holder's upcoming release slate "has never been stronger" following its June showcase.
Xbox only had one new software during the last quarter – Ninja Theory's Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga – but Nadella highlighted successes in other fields, such as the Fallout TV show, which
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