Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard was one of the most expensive acquisitions in entertainment history, but it appears that the investment continues to yield great results for the company. According to a fiscal report released last Tuesday (30), the publisher helped boost Xbox’s earnings once again, despite the significant decline in demand for the company’s consoles.
In the three months ending June 30, 2024, gaming revenue increased 44% compared to last year — without the acquisition, it would have fallen by around 4%. As for Xbox consoles, earnings fell 42% year-over-year, but revenue from content and services, which includes Xbox Game Pass, increased by 61% in this first fiscal quarter of 2024 (between April and June). Of course, the biggest “culprit” of this was also Activision itself.
Activision Blizzard helped drive Xbox earnings in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.Fonte: Xbox
Xbox catalog “never been stronger”
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also said the US giant’s gaming division now has more than 500 million monthly active users across platforms and devices.
“Our content catalog has never been stronger,” the executive said on a conference call. “We introduced a record 30 new titles to our storefront this quarter. 18 of them, like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6will be available on Xbox Game Pass.”
Call of Duty Black Ops 6 will be released on October 25th on Xbox Game Pass.Fonte: Activision
Nadella also highlights the new partnerships that have allowed Xbox to reach new audiences across other devices. “Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can now stream games directly to devices they already own, including, as of last month, Amazon Fire Stick TV. We’re finally bringing our IPs to new audiences.”
And it seems that the series’ warm reception Fallout on Prime Video also yielded great results for the company.”Fallout premiered as a TV show on Amazon Prime this quarter. It was the second most-watched show on the platform and hours played on Game Pass for the franchise increased nearly fivefold,” the executive concluded.
New Xbox Game Pass Prices
It’s worth remembering that Xbox Game Pass prices have increased worldwide — including in Brazil. Now, the updated prices for subscribing to the service are as follows:
- Xbox Game Pass Core — R$ 34.99 per month / or from R$ 199.99 to R$ 249.99 on the annual plan
- Xbox Game Pass Standard — New subscription option available that will replace the Game Pass on consoles, but will not have day one games and will cost R$44.99
- Xbox Game Pass PC — Increase from R$29.99 to R$35.99
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate — Increase from R$49.99 to R$59.99
It is worth remembering that the console version has been retired for new subscribers – however, the plan will continue to be valid for those who are already members and have activated the automatic renewal system. In addition, those who have already opted for the console plan will only be able to accumulate a total of 13 months of subscription starting September 18th of this year.
Source: https://www.tecmundo.com.br/voxel/287645-activision-impulsiona-ganhos-xbox-procura-consoles-segue-caindo.htm
