Microsoft’s buyout of Activision Blizzard has given first insight into the revenue generated by Xbox Game Pass.
Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) has approved the buyout and released a public document including data on various gaming companies, as spotted by Tweaktown.
According to that data, revenue generated through Xbox Game Pass was $2.9bn in the fiscal period ending January 2021.
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Compared with Microsoft’s total yearly Xbox revenue ($16.28bn), Game Pass made up roughly 18 percent. It was also nearly 30 percent of its games and services revenue ($12.581) for the same period.
The last official word from Microsoft was that the subscription service had over 25m subscribers in January this year, but it reported 18m subscribers in January 2021 when revenue was at $2.9bn.
However, this $2.9bn is solely from console subscriptions, so doesn’t include PC Game Pass.
The breakdown of this revenue figure is also unclear. Does this include discounted game sales through Game Pass, microtransactions, Game Pass Ultimate, or in-game DLC sales through Game Pass?
That said, Microsoft has been cagey on exact figures generated by Game Pass, so this gives us a further glimpse into the subscription model.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he’s “very confident” the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard buyout will go through, as it’s now scrutinised by the UK’s competition regulator.
Sony has responded to the buyout by stating there will be “major negative implications” to “giving Microsoft control of Activision games like Call of Duty”, and that Microsoft’s post-acquisition Call of Duty offer is “inadequate on many levels”.
