It’s illustrative of what was really at stake for Microsoft over the past year as it defended its acquisition of Activision/Blizzard.
This Thursday Microsoft made its financial reports public. When such a large company does this, it’s time to take a closer look to discover what’s interesting, what they tell us and what they don’t. And within this whole array of businesses, today we are going to focus on Xbox, Microsoft’s video game division.
This is Microsoft’s second quarterly report which includes the effects of the purchase of Activision/Blizzard/King, the gaming giant responsible for WoW, CoD or Candy Crush.
How is Xbox doing in 2024 after the big purchase
- Xbox’s content and services revenue grew by 62% and game revenue by 51%, in both cases mainly thanks to Activision.
- At the same time, Xbox hardware revenue decreased by 31%, and the report indicates that the overall impact of the acquisition of Activision includes a loss of $350 million in operating income.
- This loss includes a series of adjustments for the “Activision content movement” throughout the ecosystem, as many of Activision’s current titles have required updates to adapt to Xbox’s first-party practices.
It is illustrative of what was really at stake for Microsoft over the course of the past year, as it defended its acquisition of Activision in US and UK courts. Without Activision’s software lineup on its side, the financial story could have been much worse for Xbox.
This is a good example of the type of “yes, but” stories that have emerged from Xbox so far this year. Overall, Xbox revenues have increased, but it is due to conveniently acquiring the rights to several of the most popular franchises in the Western world. The news is not so bad, but it comes with an asterisk.
Microsoft has also had to deal with a constant flow of bad publicity due to consumers’ perception that Xbox, despite all its efforts and successes, is permanently stuck in third place in the active console market.
Looking at the numbers, it seems that Xbox needed the acquisition of Activision / Blizzard more for its own long-term survival than the company -back then- Bobby Kotick. We will see how the year ends and if they start to recover.
Author: Chema Carvajal Sarabia
{
"de-DE": "Journalist, spezialisiert auf Technologie, Unterhaltung und Videospiele. Über das zu schreiben, was mich begeistert (Gadgets, Spiele und Filme), ermöglicht es mir, bei Verstand zu bleiben und mit einem Lächeln im Gesicht aufzuwachen, wenn der Wecker klingelt. PS: Das stimmt nicht 100% der Zeit.",
"en-US": "Journalist specialized in technology, entertainment and video games. Writing about what I'm passionate about (gadgets, games and movies) allows me to stay sane and wake up with a smile on my face when the alarm clock goes off. PS: this is not true 100% of the time.",
"es-ES": "Content Manager - Periodista especializado en tecnología, entretenimiento y videojuegos. Escribir sobre lo que me apasiona (cacharros, juegos y cine) me permite seguir cuerdo y despertarme con una sonrisa cuando suena el despertador. PD: esto no es cierto el 100 % de las veces.",
"fr-FR": "Journaliste spécialisé dans la technologie, le divertissement et les jeux vidéo. Écrire sur ce qui me passionne (gadgets, jeux et films) me permet de rester sain d'esprit et de me réveiller avec le sourire aux lèvres quand le réveil sonne. PS : cela n'est pas vrai 100 % du temps.",
"it-IT": "Giornalista specializzato in tecnologia, intrattenimento e videogiochi. Scrivere di ciò che mi appassiona (gadget, giochi e film) mi permette di mantenere la sanità mentale e di svegliarmi con un sorriso sul viso quando suona la sveglia. PS: questo non è vero al 100% del tempo.",
"ja-JP": "",
"nl-NL": "",
"pl-PL": "",
"pt-BR": "Jornalista especializado em tecnologia, entretenimento e videogames. Escrever sobre o que me apaixona (gadgets, jogos e filmes) me permite manter a sanidade e acordar com um sorriso no rosto quando o despertador toca. PS: isso não é verdade 100% do tempo.",
"social": {
"email": "chemacs91@gmail.com",
"facebook": "",
"twitter": "https://twitter.com/chematopetazo",
"linkedin": ""
}
}
View all posts by Chema Carvajal Sarabia