So MS has dropped 30% in hardware sales. Phil has to take this on the chin and accept it’s a consequence of a totally ludacris software policy of putting all your games on your biggest competitors platform. Who’s going to buy the hardware? Why would they when they don’t need to? Utterly arsine decisions over at Microsoft. If they continue down this path I’ll be cancelling my 3 gamepass subscriptions and walking away for good. This is not what we the gamers who use the ecosystem want. Give us what we want, exclusives and a reason to be on the platform through great experiences. Put all games on PC, put some on switch, put next to nothing on PayStation.
No more hiding behind Brad sams, colteastwood, Parris Lilly, and all the people who just bang the xbox drum instead of calling them out for not striving for excellence. Their good isn't good enough. SAME GOES for Nintendo, and Playstation.
The fact that with the biggest cod according to Microsoft they still were negative, goes to show that their setup is not a great setup. Basically all those studios and the only thing generating meaningful revenue is bascially ABK part of the company specifically cod. SO each year will be dependent on how well that cod does. Thats not a good outcome. To me I smell more teams, more layoffs coming. Compulsion games, Ninja theory and many others must be looking at this and sweating bullets. They are hoping their PC/PS5/Switch 2 version sells enough.
Nice explanation Brad !!! Most people on internet would start saying Xbox is dead after seeing that 7% decline number but you explained it very well what that number even means and all that..
Hey Brad, I love your videos! I don't understand how going multi platform will help them if, at the end of the day, they can't put game pass on other platforms and its the driving factor, am I wrong here? they need to innovate with something like a handheld or a VR xbox or something to actually make an impact to their revenue
Don't forget they payed billions for the franchise and have to pay something like 800m to make each game. Sony make exactly the same money they did before the acquisition and no money to make the game.....
@weplayvrgames In 1999 I was a broke college student who saved up $700 to buy a Sega Dreamcast, games and accessories. That's $1300 in today's money. One year later my $1,300 investment was a door stop. We spend a ton of money on this hobby and should be just as interested as investors are in the health of the ecosystem we invest our dollars in.
@@Degze No one has accurate figures on the cost to develop each CoD iteration. Nice job pushing a single rumor up another $100 million. Whatever the cost, it includes a year(s) of support (DLC and live services), not just the game at release. CoD earns money all year round, and continues to sell through the following year, despite a new version being active. MS didn't buy a car for $75 billion, they bought a mega-publisher that makes billions a year. A company that will be worth 2-3x times the cost in a decade. Microsoft's valuation climbed over $1 trillion in the two years in took to close ABK. The company is worth over $3 trillion; $3 trillion more than all of Sony, multiple times over. How you could think Sony getting 20% or 30% off of CoD is preferrable to 70-100% and ownership is disturbing.
Releasing a mid-gen refresh would have been a bad idea. Glad Microsoft didn't do that.A big waste of money with no real return. Look over at Sony, no one is really buying games there either that's why they started releasing more on PC. I think the mid-gen refresh kinda ruined the console generation, after that last time. Everyone knows that the Series X and PS5 only has a 2070 GPU equivalent graphics capability. Devs messed up by not making their games around the console hardware, but instead using higher end PCs.
@@EdgarDeath1986 Why do people always want more when they already had this gen for only 4 years. Waiting for the next big release would have made the PS5 more exciting, but no, they had to release a Pro version, again. It really was not needed. It will not outsell the base model, just like the PS4 Pro did not outsell the base model for last gen, and Sony is losing more money simply because they are not selling a lot of software. Every console sale is a loss and they are selling less overall and really not making enough for what the spend on making buggy AAA games with lazy optimization. I think scalpers are buying most of the Sony PlayStation 5 Pros. Maybe they even contributed to the overall sales of PS5.
@@Roberto_Marx Their software sales are low compred to what they spend and I simply think they are wasting a lot of money. You're another one of those people that like new hardware every 3 years and would have like two Pro versions this time around, but you don't buy games. Sony is losing a lot of money, they are selling hardware, but not much software by comparison to their hardware. Their next console won't be until 2028 or 29. With mid-gen refreshes they really, really ruined the magic of a new console generation. One thing you need to realize is that every generation the graphics are better, so why does there even need to be mid-gen refreshes. It makes devs have to do more optimization, something they don't really seem to like doing properly, that's why there are day one patches and even more patches later down the line.
@ I own 50 ps5 games I bought. Not including ps4 games. Everything you typed is wrong. lol Sony is making recorded breaking profits. More profits in the history of ps. Smh you need real info. Get off the Xbot channels son.
Xbox is generally seeing success for their strategy in everything but console hardware, but the console market has also generally stalled. The best any console is doing is Nintendo which is hitting a peak that hasn't changed since the PS2. I'd also caution with looking at the overall in vacuum. The biggest difference is that last year we were seeing Xbox + ABK revenue boosts, but realistically 1) the new Xbox (including ABK) is going to be smaller than just both added together as is with all acquisitions, and 2) ABK wouldn't have approached Microsoft to be sold or accepted any offer if they saw themselves doing as well in the future as they had been thus far. It says a lot to me that Microsoft is seeing "stronger than expected results". Microsoft is out of the free added revenue boost and now has to prove why ABK was a worthwhile investment (meaning not just Xbox doing better, but ABK doing better). I think you hit the nail on the head. Xbox has the strategy, but still reliant mostly on the trends of the gaming industry. I also think cloud getting out of Beta will have a massive boost on game pass. In general, I think Xbox is at the plateau where they need to really start marketing their brand power and bring it all together with a new console generation with a clear unified strategy.
That's the problem tho. They don't market anything. Or atleast not enough. It baffles me that a trillion dollar company that doesnt market their product properly can't figure out why they're not growing more. Just another example showing Microsoft doesn't have a fundamental understanding of how the industry works. They say they want 100 million users by 2027, yet they dont want to spend the money to market gamepass. Make it make sense.
this is what matters content and services grew 2% FROM gamepass Gamers spent $465 million on Microsoft games in December, solidifying its position as the world’s largest publisher across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
2% is absolutely horrific!!!! You had a new COD release and a Game Pass price increase to generate more revenue during the busiest gaming time of the year for Christmas. And all Xbox could muster was an absolute paltry 2% increase on Game Pass. That's Horrific!!!! Pair that with a catastrophic 29% drop in console hardware, and it is no wonder Xbox went full 3rd party. Not looking good for Team Green and the Will of Phil. 🤣 Interestingly, 64% of ALL consumer spending on Microsoft games in December was on PlayStation platforms, meaning a 36% split between all other platforms. PlayStation is literally holding up the entire Xbox brand! 😅 This is despite Indiana Jones launching in December and being exclusive to Xbox/PC. This adds further credence to why Xbox will follow a broader multi-platform strategy. By the way, Xbox only held that title due to COD. Remove COD, and Xbox disappears from ranking.
The quarterly revenue record, the subscription base increase and the shift to becoming the world's largest publisher are all more than a clean bill of health. They are the indicators of a year that will be dominated by releases from Xbox across the entire industry. They have invested much more heavily than the competition and are about to redirect revenue that would have gone to Sony/Nintendo, back towards Xbox with their forward thinking multiplatform release strategy.
Absolutely BRUTAL! Even with Black Ops 6, service revenue only increased 2%, and overall revenue is down 7%. Pair that with a catastrophic 30% drop in console hardware, and it is no wonder Xbox went full 3rd party. Keep in mind this is during the Christmas Rush, which is usually the best time for the gaming industry as a whole. Also: -This is the first time Activision Blizzard financials weren't separated out (most likely because they were bad). -This is also the same quarter game pass prices increased 15-20% as well, so service revenue growth may just be from price increases. Not looking good for Team Green and the Will of Phil. Interestingly, 64% of *ALL* consumer spending on Microsoft games in December was on PlayStation platforms, meaning a 36% split between all other platforms. PlayStation is literally holding up the Xbox brand! This is despite Indiana Jones launching in December and being exclusive to Xbox/PC at the same time. This adds further credence to why Xbox will follow a broader multi-platform strategy. The Xbox Series S and X are selling worse than the Xbox One. It doesn't get any more sad than that. While at the same time, the PS5 is outpacing the PS4.
And yet...you are here. Microsoft is worth $3 trillion more than Sony. Multiple Sonys. They are focused on engulfing the videogame industry, so give it up.
I just don’t see the point of Xbox anymore. As someone who owned an Xbox 360, Xbox One X, and Series X, I struggle to find a reason to keep investing in the platform. If all of Microsoft’s games are releasing on PC, PlayStation, and even Nintendo, what’s the incentive to buy an Xbox console-or purchase anything from the Xbox store? Microsoft keeps pushing the message that “everything is an Xbox,” but what gamers hear is, “our console no longer matters.” If I buy a game on Steam, I can play it on any PC, GeForce Now, or a Steam Deck. If I had a PS5, I could play both PlayStation and Xbox games, along with third-party exclusives, all while enjoying the simple plug-and-play console experience. If I owned a Switch (or switch 2), I could play Nintendo titles and Xbox games on the go and on my TV. Microsoft’s strategy seems to be killing the Xbox brand, making it feel like throwing money at a sinking ship. While Xbox isn’t dead yet, the future looks increasingly uncertain. I’m sure the Xbox team is working on something, but with Microsoft’s leadership prioritizing AI and cloud services, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re considering axing or massively reducing the division. The only way I see Xbox surviving next-gen is if Microsoft launches an "Xbox Copilot+ Max" console that runs LLM natively-interrupting gameplay to sell you a Copilot AI 365+ Pro subscription.
Its the ecosystem they are selling now. You dont need an exclusive xbox hardware to play their games. I dont think they will stop making xboxes as there will always be a demand for it. It will be more likely it becomes a niche market rather than a general market. Console market is not growing, they are looking into how to grow outside of a hardware exclusive platform to a new form. Your games are available in gamepass and you get more value out of it like xcloud, play anywhere, crossplay/cross save, and discounts. If it doesnt suit your taste there are other options to play the games where you want. Its rather a player friendly approach. It gives them money to support and develope more games. Xbox is different from what they were 20 years and if you dont like how they approaching their future then its time to move on to another hardware, your not their target audience anymore.
CoPilot is a non-working pipe dream. You don't need it and Microsoft can't figure out how to make a convincing use case for it. Stop throwing money at Xbox. Free yourself and move on.
1 Sony requires full face scans or id scans to play online outside the USA for now. 2 Sonys has had the worst data breaches, some in the top ten worst in history. And you are wondering why people would be upset having to have full face scans? 3 Xbox games are superior, let alone ypu would be throwing away your entire game library and the best system with reverse compatibility. You might have more options with reverse compatibility on pc, but most are illegal also.
Clearly they haven't really started their plans on Mobile yet. Which we know was the main reason why Microsoft wanted ABK. And they still need to release their biggest franchises on PlayStation + Switch 2. It's actually impressive the numbers they're pulling in already.
It's all above my pay grade, but calling this impressive doesn't sound right imo. More like Mehh, it's a good thing we too big to fail, is what im seeing here lol
I'm not that impressed by what they're doing. The mobile play is hoping the courts can force Google and Apple to open up and their 'mobile Xbox' is just copying Nintendo - I just don't know if that really opens any new doors for MSFT. What they needed 5 years ago was exclusives. Instead they're going 3rd party.
A 2% increase in content and services is *not impressive* when your gaming revenue is down 7% and your hardware is down 29%. Why are you Xbots so uneducated about business?
It’s safe to say that if hardware declined by 29%, then Game Pass subscription did not up. With COD on Game Pass and an increase of 2%, that’s a really bad sign for Xbox and Game Pass. They are intentionally not releasing Game Pass subscription numbers, it’s because they are not doing good at all.
Also if we take 140m hours and used 34m, that's only 4ish hours per user, I don't think that would be very impressive. But I also use better xcloud to stream my Xbox to my PC, so anyone like me is likely inflating those hours.
Microsoft didn’t want to sell Xbox this past holidays. Since Black Friday, PlayStation had huge discounts and even Switch had big discounts with 2 games + 12 months Nintendo online. Xbox Series X didn’t have any discount, the new Digital version was more expensive than the PS5 Slim disc and the PS5 Digital was 100€ cheaper than Series X digital. On top of that, there were rumours of new hardware news this past Xmas (Sarah Bond said it) so people were waiting to hear anything. But even the stock hasn’t been great, and the new 2TB version refresh is impossible to find. Microsoft doesn’t want to sell Xbox and it shows.
Lets be brutally honest. The quality of their games hasn't been on the level of Nintendo or PlayStation since the 360 days. That's why despite buying their way into revenue they still are behind PlayStation. Playstation and Nintendo win GOTY every other year it feels like meanwhile Xbox hasn't won a GOTY since 20 years lol. Going multiplat will make things worse for them long-term.
I love the down playing Brad tries to do lol. Context a lot of big Publishers EA, CAPCOM had bad quarters Playstation I expect not to be super great either. But difference is they still sell hardware.
Brad, the 2023 game pass numbers were 15mill PC, 10mill Xbox. We know they had 35 million subs in 2024. If the split stayed the same, that's 21m PC + 14m Xbox in 2024. So the 2025 numbers would be 27m + X, where X is probably more than 14m. It's worth noting that 2025 is the first time they've had a stacked gaming year worth staying subbed for since Game Pass launched.
11:20 Xbox is already losing money on every console sale. That’s how consoles work - they’re sold for a loss and you make it up with game sales. Brad, you keep talking about these reports, but dropping console revenue does not mean dropping profits.
Thanks to your vid a week or so back. Managed to find the classic subscription for my ‘one drive’. Back to £4.99 a month but it’s very well buried in them pages. Had to ‘duck duck go’ to figure out how to keep classic. MS/xbox is such a paradox. They do great things on Xbox and bad things on the ms side. Thanks for that video.
If Phil Spencer was a football coach he would have been run out of town after his first season, I don’t how he keeps his job when every year under his leadership the Xbox brand continues to get worse.
That's not keeping Xbox alive, it's actually killing Xbox. That's like saying John Edwards was trying to keep his wife Elizabeth alive when she had terminal cancer by sleeping with another woman and getting her pregnant. And a reminder that Xbox is hardware. It's literally directX Box. Box, console.
Game pass is their best bet on revenue. I purchased every Xbox, many games, and the recurring payment of the ultimate as well but for them every monthly income is way better than the one quick buck on a sale but they both complement each other.
@SWOTHDRA Explain how? They don't measure their success by consoles sold because their games business is so much more. They are a services company and their service grew by 30%. That's a success.
I mean at this point, xboxers who want GP would have bought it by now. The growth from GP can’t come from Xbox owners they need GP to pick up on other systems. Putting their games everywhere really is their best bet now.
This is reason for multi platform release. Generate more revenue. What’s the point of Xbox? You continue to get all these titles for $20/mo instead of $70 per title. The content schedule looks like it’s starting to roll out (tbd)
I love Xbox ecosystem more than PS. However , small things that need to get better are give me at least two offline machines, my home pc and portable Rog Ally, cloud sync need to be faster and more reliable, so I can play at work on my Xbox and pick up at home with full RTX without losing any progression and not lose 5-10 syncing, a clear family plan including 365 and gamepass 😅 and a Xbox os for the pc and portable pc.
Sorry to be "that guy" but launching a new console only really works for Nintendo - they make a profit on their hardware, Sony and MSFT don't. This is why MSFT may as well just leave the HW business altogether - the revenue bump doesn't really matter, it's profit that matters.
Our local GameStop has some Xbox controllers and nothing else at this time, so no kidding console sales have dropped. My Series X is my go-to console, and I dumped my PS5 last year, which I never used. Nevertheless, PlayStation is the advertised popular machine along with Switch.
These numbers are good? This guy is delusional. The only one that's keeping their gaming division afloat is playstation. It was PlayStation that made Call of Duty Huge. This is huge money for playstation also.
They not making another console or they would at least calm everyone down by saying they are, or have plans to. There's a reason you only see journalist, channels, & content creators looking for clicks saying that nonsense, yet only spin & crickets from MS themselves.
If you're a new user why opt for Xbox when you can get a Sony or Nintendo console & play Xbox games as well as the platform exclusives. Or even better - Get a PC & play Steam, PlayStation, Xbox & get game pass. For the Xbox platform to continue as a console, it needs a perceived extra value. it needs Steam compatibility to compete.
Xbox's next console will sell even worse than the current gen console the same way this gen Xbox is selling worse than the last generation's Xbox. It's best for them to just cut the fat, and become a multiplatform publisher.
Even Brad doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Most new “gamepass subs” are people signing up to Xbox live to play Fortnite. They renamed it to Gamepass. lol that’s why they can sell more consoles but lose revenue. Nobody is signing up to the 20 a month tier. lol they are actually downgrading from 20 to the basic Xbox live tier. lol . That don’t lose a sub because it’s still game pass but they lose revenue. lol and not including the money they lose from putting cod on a rental service. It’s over xbots.
@ Sony fans are so clueless, it's funny. You talk about "Xbox have no games", While Sony doesn't have anything coming out this year, and all the games you guys are looking forward to is Xbox games. And by putting Xbox titles on PlayStation, where they will pay full price, it will subsidize Game pass and the sales Xbox owners get. Microsoft will also come out with a handheld that is compatible with PC titles, and Sony PC games will be playable on that. Because Microsoft is more profitable than Sony, Xbox's future is pretty bight. Sony fans are not smart enough to see what is happening. and it is hilarious. Sony makes a loss on hardware, and though they are the leaders they are not making enough back. Sony games will come to Xbox too eventually. They lose too much on the Pro, Slim, PSVR and the Portal as it is.
Second highest holiday quarter ever in Xbox 20 years... sounds pretty good to me.. 6.58 billion 7.11 billion is the highest ever... consoles are irrelevant.. the old way of measuring things are done... almost 7 billion dollars in 3 months I'd say they are fine.. they do billions in microtransactions alone probably
Damn why does everyone hate Xbox so much. They are changing, trying different things. There nothing wrong with that. If they failed the console wars then it is ok to try something new. I think they’ll be ok from now on with a lot of games they are bringing in this year with gamepass. Specially since they are first dar release.
Time for a new elite controller, that will help the revenue slide 😉
Lol
Not really
Totally agree and been saying that since the best one started drifting.
@@bdsams I'd say don't give them any ideas but they're probably already two steps ahead of you...
I'd love the rumors of 2026 being a new console generation with that sweet new Xbox controller. Then in 2027 or 2028 they could do an elite 3.
There is no need to stick around and see the beloved Xbox brand be dragged through the mud this way.
So MS has dropped 30% in hardware sales. Phil has to take this on the chin and accept it’s a consequence of a totally ludacris software policy of putting all your games on your biggest competitors platform. Who’s going to buy the hardware? Why would they when they don’t need to?
Utterly arsine decisions over at Microsoft. If they continue down this path I’ll be cancelling my 3 gamepass subscriptions and walking away for good. This is not what we the gamers who use the ecosystem want.
Give us what we want, exclusives and a reason to be on the platform through great experiences. Put all games on PC, put some on switch, put next to nothing on PayStation.
No more hiding behind Brad sams, colteastwood, Parris Lilly, and all the people who just bang the xbox drum instead of calling them out for not striving for excellence. Their good isn't good enough. SAME GOES for Nintendo, and Playstation.
You know what would be nice? links to articles discussed in the video in the description.
Brad is the link. In Brad we trust
BS stands for Brad Sam's, not bring sources.
The fact that with the biggest cod according to Microsoft they still were negative, goes to show that their setup is not a great setup. Basically all those studios and the only thing generating meaningful revenue is bascially ABK part of the company specifically cod. SO each year will be dependent on how well that cod does. Thats not a good outcome. To me I smell more teams, more layoffs coming. Compulsion games, Ninja theory and many others must be looking at this and sweating bullets. They are hoping their PC/PS5/Switch 2 version sells enough.
7:06 Brad Sams, reading a tweet by Brad Sams on Brad Sams' RUclips channel is a whole lot of BS.
Nice explanation Brad !!! Most people on internet would start saying Xbox is dead after seeing that 7% decline number but you explained it very well what that number even means and all that..
Hey Brad, I love your videos!
I don't understand how going multi platform will help them if, at the end of the day, they can't put game pass on other platforms and its the driving factor, am I wrong here?
they need to innovate with something like a handheld or a VR xbox or something to actually make an impact to their revenue
Dont forget that MS now brings in 70% of all Call of Duty sales on PlayStation.
That is called the Game Pass subsidy.
Don't forget they payed billions for the franchise and have to pay something like 800m to make each game.
Sony make exactly the same money they did before the acquisition and no money to make the game.....
No one cares dude were gamers not share holders , stop pretending like you do
@weplayvrgames In 1999 I was a broke college student who saved up $700 to buy a Sega Dreamcast, games and accessories. That's $1300 in today's money.
One year later my $1,300 investment was a door stop.
We spend a ton of money on this hobby and should be just as interested as investors are in the health of the ecosystem we invest our dollars in.
@@Degze No one has accurate figures on the cost to develop each CoD iteration. Nice job pushing a single rumor up another $100 million. Whatever the cost, it includes a year(s) of support (DLC and live services), not just the game at release. CoD earns money all year round, and continues to sell through the following year, despite a new version being active.
MS didn't buy a car for $75 billion, they bought a mega-publisher that makes billions a year. A company that will be worth 2-3x times the cost in a decade.
Microsoft's valuation climbed over $1 trillion in the two years in took to close ABK. The company is worth over $3 trillion; $3 trillion more than all of Sony, multiple times over. How you could think Sony getting 20% or 30% off of CoD is preferrable to 70-100% and ownership is disturbing.
Releasing a mid-gen refresh would have been a bad idea. Glad Microsoft didn't do that.A big waste of money with no real return. Look over at Sony, no one is really buying games there either that's why they started releasing more on PC. I think the mid-gen refresh kinda ruined the console generation, after that last time. Everyone knows that the Series X and PS5 only has a 2070 GPU equivalent graphics capability. Devs messed up by not making their games around the console hardware, but instead using higher end PCs.
Smh another person talking but doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Sonys holiday quarter was huge.
The PS5 Pro caused it to up 20% year over year.
My man you are talking out of your bum.
@@EdgarDeath1986 Why do people always want more when they already had this gen for only 4 years. Waiting for the next big release would have made the PS5 more exciting, but no, they had to release a Pro version, again. It really was not needed. It will not outsell the base model, just like the PS4 Pro did not outsell the base model for last gen, and Sony is losing more money simply because they are not selling a lot of software.
Every console sale is a loss and they are selling less overall and really not making enough for what the spend on making buggy AAA games with lazy optimization. I think scalpers are buying most of the Sony PlayStation 5 Pros. Maybe they even contributed to the overall sales of PS5.
@@Roberto_Marx Their software sales are low compred to what they spend and I simply think they are wasting a lot of money. You're another one of those people that like new hardware every 3 years and would have like two Pro versions this time around, but you don't buy games. Sony is losing a lot of money, they are selling hardware, but not much software by comparison to their hardware. Their next console won't be until 2028 or 29. With mid-gen refreshes they really, really ruined the magic of a new console generation.
One thing you need to realize is that every generation the graphics are better, so why does there even need to be mid-gen refreshes. It makes devs have to do more optimization, something they don't really seem to like doing properly, that's why there are day one patches and even more patches later down the line.
@ I own 50 ps5 games I bought. Not including ps4 games. Everything you typed is wrong. lol Sony is making recorded breaking profits. More profits in the history of ps. Smh you need real info. Get off the Xbot channels son.
Xbox is generally seeing success for their strategy in everything but console hardware, but the console market has also generally stalled. The best any console is doing is Nintendo which is hitting a peak that hasn't changed since the PS2. I'd also caution with looking at the overall in vacuum. The biggest difference is that last year we were seeing Xbox + ABK revenue boosts, but realistically 1) the new Xbox (including ABK) is going to be smaller than just both added together as is with all acquisitions, and 2) ABK wouldn't have approached Microsoft to be sold or accepted any offer if they saw themselves doing as well in the future as they had been thus far. It says a lot to me that Microsoft is seeing "stronger than expected results". Microsoft is out of the free added revenue boost and now has to prove why ABK was a worthwhile investment (meaning not just Xbox doing better, but ABK doing better).
I think you hit the nail on the head. Xbox has the strategy, but still reliant mostly on the trends of the gaming industry. I also think cloud getting out of Beta will have a massive boost on game pass. In general, I think Xbox is at the plateau where they need to really start marketing their brand power and bring it all together with a new console generation with a clear unified strategy.
That's the problem tho. They don't market anything. Or atleast not enough. It baffles me that a trillion dollar company that doesnt market their product properly can't figure out why they're not growing more. Just another example showing Microsoft doesn't have a fundamental understanding of how the industry works. They say they want 100 million users by 2027, yet they dont want to spend the money to market gamepass. Make it make sense.
this is what matters
content and services grew 2% FROM gamepass
Gamers spent $465 million on Microsoft games in December, solidifying its position as the world’s largest publisher across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
Smh. And I bet 90 percent of that was people buying call of duty on ps and pc. Sounds good but they owe 80 billion lol.
2% is absolutely horrific!!!! You had a new COD release and a Game Pass price increase to generate more revenue during the busiest gaming time of the year for Christmas.
And all Xbox could muster was an absolute paltry 2% increase on Game Pass. That's Horrific!!!!
Pair that with a catastrophic 29% drop in console hardware, and it is no wonder Xbox went full 3rd party. Not looking good for Team Green and the Will of Phil. 🤣
Interestingly, 64% of ALL consumer spending on Microsoft games in December was on PlayStation platforms, meaning a 36% split between all other platforms. PlayStation is literally holding up the entire Xbox brand! 😅
This is despite Indiana Jones launching in December and being exclusive to Xbox/PC.
This adds further credence to why Xbox will follow a broader multi-platform strategy.
By the way, Xbox only held that title due to COD. Remove COD, and Xbox disappears from ranking.
@ don’t forget Candy Crush lol.
@@GalaxyFurthank you for your analysis
The quarterly revenue record, the subscription base increase and the shift to becoming the world's largest publisher are all more than a clean bill of health. They are the indicators of a year that will be dominated by releases from Xbox across the entire industry. They have invested much more heavily than the competition and are about to redirect revenue that would have gone to Sony/Nintendo, back towards Xbox with their forward thinking multiplatform release strategy.
Absolutely BRUTAL! Even with Black Ops 6, service revenue only increased 2%, and overall revenue is down 7%. Pair that with a catastrophic 30% drop in console hardware, and it is no wonder Xbox went full 3rd party. Keep in mind this is during the Christmas Rush, which is usually the best time for the gaming industry as a whole. Also: -This is the first time Activision Blizzard financials weren't separated out (most likely because they were bad). -This is also the same quarter game pass prices increased 15-20% as well, so service revenue growth may just be from price increases. Not looking good for Team Green and the Will of Phil.
Interestingly, 64% of *ALL* consumer spending on Microsoft games in December was on PlayStation platforms, meaning a 36% split between all other platforms. PlayStation is literally holding up the Xbox brand!
This is despite Indiana Jones launching in December and being exclusive to Xbox/PC at the same time.
This adds further credence to why Xbox will follow a broader multi-platform strategy.
The Xbox Series S and X are selling worse than the Xbox One. It doesn't get any more sad than that.
While at the same time, the PS5 is outpacing the PS4.
Wow! 64% of Xbox sales being on PlayStation is a real eye opener. These Xbots arguing with Ponies is literally biting the hand that feeds them👀
@@ronniepatterson2827 truth
I mean I'm pretty sure a lot of that is due to customers realizing they don't need an Xbox if they port games to Playstation
And yet...you are here.
Microsoft is worth $3 trillion more than Sony. Multiple Sonys. They are focused on engulfing the videogame industry, so give it up.
Does he realize it's the second highest holiday quarter ever in Xbox's history?? I don't think he does
Thats pathetic , another 30% down year over year
Yeah but heaps of that is from Activision, so its not like it's actually because Xbox as a brand is performing well.
@@sebastiandalpozzo5362Well Xbox owns Activision soooo
No one cares about Xbox not even Xbox themselves. We dont care about quarters, how's Xbox been since 2013?.....
@@sebastiandalpozzo5362 but isn't activision part of Xbox ?
I just don’t see the point of Xbox anymore. As someone who owned an Xbox 360, Xbox One X, and Series X, I struggle to find a reason to keep investing in the platform. If all of Microsoft’s games are releasing on PC, PlayStation, and even Nintendo, what’s the incentive to buy an Xbox console-or purchase anything from the Xbox store?
Microsoft keeps pushing the message that “everything is an Xbox,” but what gamers hear is, “our console no longer matters.” If I buy a game on Steam, I can play it on any PC, GeForce Now, or a Steam Deck. If I had a PS5, I could play both PlayStation and Xbox games, along with third-party exclusives, all while enjoying the simple plug-and-play console experience. If I owned a Switch (or switch 2), I could play Nintendo titles and Xbox games on the go and on my TV.
Microsoft’s strategy seems to be killing the Xbox brand, making it feel like throwing money at a sinking ship. While Xbox isn’t dead yet, the future looks increasingly uncertain. I’m sure the Xbox team is working on something, but with Microsoft’s leadership prioritizing AI and cloud services, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re considering axing or massively reducing the division. The only way I see Xbox surviving next-gen is if Microsoft launches an "Xbox Copilot+ Max" console that runs LLM natively-interrupting gameplay to sell you a Copilot AI 365+ Pro subscription.
Its the ecosystem they are selling now. You dont need an exclusive xbox hardware to play their games. I dont think they will stop making xboxes as there will always be a demand for it. It will be more likely it becomes a niche market rather than a general market. Console market is not growing, they are looking into how to grow outside of a hardware exclusive platform to a new form. Your games are available in gamepass and you get more value out of it like xcloud, play anywhere, crossplay/cross save, and discounts. If it doesnt suit your taste there are other options to play the games where you want. Its rather a player friendly approach. It gives them money to support and develope more games.
Xbox is different from what they were 20 years and if you dont like how they approaching their future then its time to move on to another hardware, your not their target audience anymore.
CoPilot is a non-working pipe dream. You don't need it and Microsoft can't figure out how to make a convincing use case for it. Stop throwing money at Xbox. Free yourself and move on.
I'll probably buy the next XBOX just for the ability to play my gamepass games on console.
Game pass...
1 Sony requires full face scans or id scans to play online outside the USA for now.
2 Sonys has had the worst data breaches, some in the top ten worst in history. And you are wondering why people would be upset having to have full face scans?
3 Xbox games are superior, let alone ypu would be throwing away your entire game library and the best system with reverse compatibility. You might have more options with reverse compatibility on pc, but most are illegal also.
Indiana Jones was phenomenal 🙏🤠
it only did 4 million.
@kubeanie18 it was great game what i meant
Was it realy that good?
@@DVMLLL yes very! My goty for sure
@@kubeanie18not even it did way less then that
Clearly they haven't really started their plans on Mobile yet. Which we know was the main reason why Microsoft wanted ABK. And they still need to release their biggest franchises on PlayStation + Switch 2. It's actually impressive the numbers they're pulling in already.
Personally not sure if I'd call it "impressive", but even though they started pivoting they are not spiraling as of yet which is a good sign
It's all above my pay grade, but calling this impressive doesn't sound right imo. More like Mehh, it's a good thing we too big to fail, is what im seeing here lol
I'm not that impressed by what they're doing. The mobile play is hoping the courts can force Google and Apple to open up and their 'mobile Xbox' is just copying Nintendo - I just don't know if that really opens any new doors for MSFT. What they needed 5 years ago was exclusives. Instead they're going 3rd party.
A 2% increase in content and services is *not impressive* when your gaming revenue is down 7% and your hardware is down 29%. Why are you Xbots so uneducated about business?
@@Silver_Joystix right? And remember this is with Indiana Jones and Black ops 6 🤣🤣🤣🤣
i read an article on the verge saying that hardware sails were down and that cloud gamming and services were up and there was some growth in game pass
It’s safe to say that if hardware declined by 29%, then Game Pass subscription did not up. With COD on Game Pass and an increase of 2%, that’s a really bad sign for Xbox and Game Pass. They are intentionally not releasing Game Pass subscription numbers, it’s because they are not doing good at all.
What's 2% of 37 million? That's seems like solid growth since cod landed on gamepass. And that just for the qtr, not too shabby
what kind of math or you doing ?
This is over the last quarter with December? That should at least have been a decent spike but it didn't.
Also if we take 140m hours and used 34m, that's only 4ish hours per user, I don't think that would be very impressive.
But I also use better xcloud to stream my Xbox to my PC, so anyone like me is likely inflating those hours.
Microsoft didn’t want to sell Xbox this past holidays.
Since Black Friday, PlayStation had huge discounts and even Switch had big discounts with 2 games + 12 months Nintendo online.
Xbox Series X didn’t have any discount, the new Digital version was more expensive than the PS5 Slim disc and the PS5 Digital was 100€ cheaper than Series X digital.
On top of that, there were rumours of new hardware news this past Xmas (Sarah Bond said it) so people were waiting to hear anything.
But even the stock hasn’t been great, and the new 2TB version refresh is impossible to find.
Microsoft doesn’t want to sell Xbox and it shows.
Actually its because of the semiconductor shortages.
@ there is not shortage anymore. PS5 use the same node process and very similar components and have had no issues with it, which much more demand.
Lets be brutally honest. The quality of their games hasn't been on the level of Nintendo or PlayStation since the 360 days. That's why despite buying their way into revenue they still are behind PlayStation. Playstation and Nintendo win GOTY every other year it feels like meanwhile Xbox hasn't won a GOTY since 20 years lol. Going multiplat will make things worse for them long-term.
I love the down playing Brad tries to do lol. Context a lot of big Publishers EA, CAPCOM had bad quarters Playstation I expect not to be super great either. But difference is they still sell hardware.
Gamers are the ones keeping Game Pass alive, but Microsoft doesn’t care about their existing console gamers, they are only interested in new ones.
Brad, the 2023 game pass numbers were 15mill PC, 10mill Xbox. We know they had 35 million subs in 2024. If the split stayed the same, that's 21m PC + 14m Xbox in 2024. So the 2025 numbers would be 27m + X, where X is probably more than 14m. It's worth noting that 2025 is the first time they've had a stacked gaming year worth staying subbed for since Game Pass launched.
11:20 Xbox is already losing money on every console sale. That’s how consoles work - they’re sold for a loss and you make it up with game sales. Brad, you keep talking about these reports, but dropping console revenue does not mean dropping profits.
Thanks to your vid a week or so back. Managed to find the classic subscription for my ‘one drive’. Back to £4.99 a month but it’s very well buried in them pages. Had to ‘duck duck go’ to figure out how to keep classic. MS/xbox is such a paradox. They do great things on Xbox and bad things on the ms side.
Thanks for that video.
I think there isnt much sugar coating it, it was a pretty bad quarter for xbox. Hopefully it can do better in the future
I should have bought Black Ops 6, Stalker 2, and Indiana Jones 😂😂
Not needed, witb gamepass.....microsoft shooting themselves in the foot again.
When companies hide their sales numbers, they would release them immediately.
If Phil Spencer was a football coach he would have been run out of town after his first season, I don’t how he keeps his job when every year under his leadership the Xbox brand continues to get worse.
Game is a failure, but Microsoft/Xbox are trying to push Xbox games to all other platforms, because this is their last effort to keep Xbox alive.
That's not keeping Xbox alive, it's actually killing Xbox. That's like saying John Edwards was trying to keep his wife Elizabeth alive when she had terminal cancer by sleeping with another woman and getting her pregnant.
And a reminder that Xbox is hardware. It's literally directX Box. Box, console.
@mikejenkins1270 By sleeping with another woman, a new xbox is born... Now, this is an Xbox. Lol
Game pass is their best bet on revenue. I purchased every Xbox, many games, and the recurring payment of the ultimate as well but for them every monthly income is way better than the one quick buck on a sale but they both complement each other.
Not a mixed bag, its simply a gigantic fail
Exactly. Q4 is the biggest quarter for gaming sales. A negative Q4 in gaming equates to a negative fiscal year.
@SWOTHDRA Explain how? They don't measure their success by consoles sold because their games business is so much more. They are a services company and their service grew by 30%. That's a success.
If you think xbox is in trouble Sony is dead
I mean at this point, xboxers who want GP would have bought it by now. The growth from GP can’t come from Xbox owners they need GP to pick up on other systems. Putting their games everywhere really is their best bet now.
Ganepass is only on PC and their it grew from basically zero to a little bit more then zero.....
I understood the revenue trough comments 😂
This is reason for multi platform release. Generate more revenue. What’s the point of Xbox? You continue to get all these titles for $20/mo instead of $70 per title. The content schedule looks like it’s starting to roll out (tbd)
Xbox sell their consoles at a big loss, and that’s why they want to move towards cloud gaming 100%.
I wonder how many people have game pass ultimate for free using Microsoft points, technically Microsoft makes no money from them.
I love Xbox ecosystem more than PS. However , small things that need to get better are give me at least two offline machines, my home pc and portable Rog Ally, cloud sync need to be faster and more reliable, so I can play at work on my Xbox and pick up at home with full RTX without losing any progression and not lose 5-10 syncing, a clear family plan including 365 and gamepass 😅 and a Xbox os for the pc and portable pc.
Sorry to be "that guy" but launching a new console only really works for Nintendo - they make a profit on their hardware, Sony and MSFT don't. This is why MSFT may as well just leave the HW business altogether - the revenue bump doesn't really matter, it's profit that matters.
Why do you think Sony charged $700 for the pro...?
I agree, just go microsoft gaming at this point and go the sega way.
That’s what you want because you’re afraid Xbox will put PlayStation out of business 😆
Our local GameStop has some Xbox controllers and nothing else at this time, so no kidding console sales have dropped. My Series X is my go-to console, and I dumped my PS5 last year, which I never used. Nevertheless, PlayStation is the advertised popular machine along with Switch.
These numbers are good? This guy is delusional. The only one that's keeping their gaming division afloat is playstation. It was PlayStation that made Call of Duty Huge. This is huge money for playstation also.
Where did this plastic box term come from?😂 thats all a pc is but it is some how used derogatory towards consoles?
No there's nothing wrong with consoles. They're doing great.
A PC is not a plastic box goofy. Stop sniffing glue.
@@Silver_Joystix wut? How?
Colt the dummy eastwood started this
Dont forget everything is an xbox , so is hardware really down in a sense? Ultimate is the new console and i now have 4 lol
Everything may be an Xbox, but then not all Xboxs are made by Xbox, thus Xbox hardware sales only include hardware made by Xbox.
@Cakebattered yeah I understand. I'm just saying gamepass app is now the console in their eyes I imagine.
It don't make sense if they are going to continue making consoles.
They not making another console or they would at least calm everyone down by saying they are, or have plans to. There's a reason you only see journalist, channels, & content creators looking for clicks saying that nonsense, yet only spin & crickets from MS themselves.
@Brad Sams,
Terrible Business Analogies! No way you have a Business Degree!
You are Epically Incorrect!
Now now, no need to get personal just cause a fact or 3 hurts your feelings. Maybe next time, try supporting the platform you love?
If you're a new user why opt for Xbox when you can get a Sony or Nintendo console & play Xbox games as well as the platform exclusives. Or even better - Get a PC & play Steam, PlayStation, Xbox & get game pass. For the Xbox platform to continue as a console, it needs a perceived extra value. it needs Steam compatibility to compete.
Xbox's next console will sell even worse than the current gen console the same way this gen Xbox is selling worse than the last generation's Xbox. It's best for them to just cut the fat, and become a multiplatform publisher.
Won’t be a next Xbox console. They don’t want the ones they have now. Wake up son it’s over. MS is a publisher with a failed subscription service. lol
Even Brad doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Most new “gamepass subs” are people signing up to Xbox live to play Fortnite. They renamed it to Gamepass. lol that’s why they can sell more consoles but lose revenue. Nobody is signing up to the 20 a month tier. lol they are actually downgrading from 20 to the basic Xbox live tier. lol . That don’t lose a sub because it’s still game pass but they lose revenue. lol and not including the money they lose from putting cod on a rental service. It’s over xbots.
You'd like that wouldnt you?
@ yes. And that’s what’s going to happen. Remember only 4 games? lol
@ Sony fans are so clueless, it's funny. You talk about "Xbox have no games", While Sony doesn't have anything coming out this year, and all the games you guys are looking forward to is Xbox games. And by putting Xbox titles on PlayStation, where they will pay full price, it will subsidize Game pass and the sales Xbox owners get. Microsoft will also come out with a handheld that is compatible with PC titles, and Sony PC games will be playable on that. Because Microsoft is more profitable than Sony, Xbox's future is pretty bight.
Sony fans are not smart enough to see what is happening. and it is hilarious. Sony makes a loss on hardware, and though they are the leaders they are not making enough back. Sony games will come to Xbox too eventually. They lose too much on the Pro, Slim, PSVR and the Portal as it is.
They need to start next gen asap
They can't move hardware and most of their fanbase is migrating next generation. Another early release wont help them.
@ that steam support will keep them. A nice edge over PlayStation
Glad I moved to steam and PC lol
Second highest holiday quarter ever in Xbox 20 years... sounds pretty good to me.. 6.58 billion 7.11 billion is the highest ever... consoles are irrelevant.. the old way of measuring things are done... almost 7 billion dollars in 3 months I'd say they are fine.. they do billions in microtransactions alone probably
The majority of that Xbox revenue was conducted on PlayStation, actually.
Why does it matter where it comes from? Thats the reason they publish on that platform.@GalaxyFur
You got a little bit error and it's Studio all trouble own studio all in Xbox understand not wrong now all game trouble
What he was describing is what we macroeconomists call the business cycle. You want growth between the same points in the cycle 👊
Yeah. What he said👍
If you are not an investor in Microsoft, how does the lack of numbers hurt you?
Because without number, they lie
@SWOTHDRA No, they can't lie, that would be illegal. They have an obligation to their shareholders and need to tell the truth.
Great breakdown Brad. It all made sense. Level headed analysis.
Damn why does everyone hate Xbox so much. They are changing, trying different things. There nothing wrong with that. If they failed the console wars then it is ok to try something new. I think they’ll be ok from now on with a lot of games they are bringing in this year with gamepass. Specially since they are first dar release.
Brad, what is Sony "Stuck in" as Sony PlayStation is friggin Dead!
It's over kid. You know it is.