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Microsoft revealed during its latest financial earnings report that its Xbox gaming division has seen a dramatic increase in revenue after last year’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Xbox’s revenue increased 60%, while overall gaming revenue grew 48%. According to Microsoft, a large part of this growth — the majority of it, even — is due to the acquisition, with Activision Blizzard adding $2B of revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024.
According to the latest quarterly earnings report, Xbox’s increase in revenue saw 55 points of impact from the acquisition. One of the slides in the report (shown above) reveals that the acquisition added $2.08 billion in revenue for Microsoft this quarter, with roughly $440 million in operating loss. It also added that Xbox hardware grew 3% year-over-year.
CEO Satya Nadella said in the company’s earnings call that the company’s gaming division had dramatically increased its number of monthly active users, thanks in part to Activision Blizzard. He pointed out the recent announcement of its upcoming games and updates to its “durable franchises.” He also added that the company has made strides with cloud gaming, and hours streamed have increased 44% year-over-year.
Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said during the earnings call that the company expects Xbox growth in the fifties and gaming growth in the forties for the next quarter, but they don’t expect hardware revenue to grow.
This news comes only a few days after Microsoft announced major cuts to its gaming division, laying off 1,900 employees across multiple departments.
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