On Thursday, Microsoft reported on their earnings for the quarter that ended last month; while it’s good news for Xbox games and Xbox Live, the consoles themselves are still not performing in sales.
Games sales were up by 66 percent compared to last year, which was led by the sales of Minecraft. Microsoft bought the Minecraft franchise back in 2014 for a massive $2.5 billion; it was an investment that is paying them back. Xbox Live revenue is also up by 17 percent, with a greater number of transactions and a higher revenue per transaction.
So sales are up both physically and on the online platform, but it’s also the number of people on Live that’s risen. The number of ‘active’ Live users has gone up by 28 percent to 39 million; according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, almost half of all Xbox One owners log on to Live every day.
As far as hardware goes, Microsoft have been reporting losses. Their total revenue from hardware had decreased by 17 percent, though Microsoft are attributing this to fewer Xbox 360 sales rather than the Xbox One. Microsoft haven’t shared the logistics for the number of consoles shipped this quarter, yet.
The division that the Xbox comes under ‘More Personal Computing’ has reported a total revenue of $9.3 billion for the quarter, down from $11.2 billion last year.
For Microsoft this means a total (posted) revenue of $20.4 billion for the quarter, a loss from $23.2 billion last year.