Microsoft’s revenues from the gaming segment continue to grow rapidly after the acquisition of Blizzard King by Activision.
Microsoft published financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, which ended on June 30, 2024. The company reports a significant increase in gaming revenues by 44% compared to the same period last year. Microsoft’s total revenue for the quarter amounted to $64.7 billion.
Revenues from Xbox game content and services increased by 61%. This jump is mainly due to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, which Microsoft completed in October 2023. However, it is worth noting that revenue from the sale of Xbox hardware decreased by 42% compared to last year.
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, noted during a conference call with investors that Xbox games have more than 500 million monthly active users. He also said noted the success of the series Fallout on Prime Video, pointing to it as an example of expanding the audience of a game franchise through other media. According to him, the number of hours spent playing Fallout games on Xbox Game Pass has increased fivefold since the show’s release.
Activision’s acquisition of Blizzard King has significantly changed Microsoft’s financial picture. Previously third-party revenues from games such as Call of Duty and Diablo 4 have now become internal, leading to a significant year-over-year increase.
The integration of Activision Blizzard King into the Xbox ecosystem continued throughout 2024. The publishers took part in the annual Xbox Games Showcase and announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be available on release day for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on October 25, 2024. Microsoft has also started adding games from the Activision Blizzard King catalog to Xbox Game Pass, including Diablo 4 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023).
In the future, Microsoft plans to release a number of anticipated games, such as Avowed and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks. Although the exact release dates have not yet been announced, these projects are scheduled for 2024.
Source: Windowscentral, IGN