Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Xbox Gaming Revenue Down, But Xbox Live Is Up
Today Microsoft announced the results of its fiscal fourth quarter (April through June, 2016), with a decline of $152 million in gaming revenue. This was, however, offset by good news from Xbox Live.
The $152 million decrease represents a nine-percent decline as compared to the same period the previous year. Microsoft attributes this to lower console sales as well as lower prices for those sold. In all, Xbox hardware revenue for the period was down 33 percent.
On the other hand, Xbox Live revenue went up four percent due to more transactions and an increase of consumer revenue spent for those transactions. Furthermore, the services's monthly active users increased 33 percent to 49 million.
[Source: Microsoft]
Our Take
Cutting the price of the hardware by $50 certainly means reduced hardware revenue, but then again announcing the Xbox One S and Project Scorpio at E3 while still trying to sell the current hardware configuration didn't help matters, either.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
