Xbox Game Pass subscribers double despite gaming revenue decline
Microsoft has had a good second quarter in FY2020, but not in the Xbox business.
In a call following the reveal of Microsoft's earnings for Q2 FY2020, the company shared some light on the health of the Xbox brand and its gaming division.
During the quarter, gaming revenue decreased by a whopping 21%, with Xbox services and content more specifically dropping 11% compared to the previous year. Microsoft blamed this on the slower sales of Xbox One towards the end of the generation, and the absence of a big third-party release during the quarter.
The previous year, of course, saw the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, which helped boost revenue for gaming.
Despite this, Xbox Game Pass continues to be a solid performer for the company. Although specific numbers weren't shared, Microsoft revealed that Game Pass subscribers "more than doubled" during the quarter. CEO Satya Nadella also revealed the Xbox Live set a new monthly active users record, but again, without offering exact figures.
In FY2020, Microsoft will launch game streaming service xCloud, and Nadella pointed out that tests so far have had "hundreds of thousands" of players interested. The line-up of Project xCloud games continues to expand, with Microsoft regularly adding new games, as recently as last week.
