Microsoft has always been very reserved about the revenue generated by the service Xbox Game Pass. However, the mists that shrouded the mystery seem to have finally cleared, with the publication of an official document dating back to the acquisition agreement of Activision Blizzard at the beginning of the year.
The Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), which approved the deal, today released a document that also includes a lot of the company’s financial data. These also include the revenue generated by Game Pass subscriptions.
Xbox Game Pass: A service that earned Microsoft 2.9 billion in 2020
According to the document (published by Tweaktown), Xbox Game Pass generated, in the fiscal period ending January 2021, an income for $ 2.9 billion. However, the report is comprehensive, as it only refers to the console subscription. Therefore, the data relating to the PC Game Pass are missing. This means that the real figure could be much higher.
The report also tells us that the service accounts for approximately 18% of Microsoft’s total annual revenue. The document does not reveal the overall number of subscribers to the service, but NME reports that this has passed from 15 million (in August 2021) to 18 million (in March 2022).
According to Eurogamer there would be inconsistencies between the numbers, but this could be explained by a number of factors. First of all, the price of the Game Pass subscription varies according to the markets, and therefore the exchange between currencies must also be taken into account. But above all – as Eurogamer also points out – the report may also take account of game sales to subscribers (who can buy the titles in the catalog at a discounted price compared to all the others).
To have a comparison and understand the extent of the phenomenon, it is enough to know that the estimates of revenues compared to similar services are much lower. NME reports that Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions have generated “only” 932 million dollars. Likewise EA Play (which is included in Game Pass anyway) cashed in 356 million.