Microsoft is a powerhouse of the gaming industry, and that much is certain. Most of that value has come from lucrative acquisitions that the company has made over the years, such as the snapping up of ZeniMax Media and, more recently, Activision Blizzard King. In a recent financial report, it was stressed that the tech titan now owns 20 franchises that have each exceeded $1 BILLION in revenue.
The ‘Annual Report 2024’ that was published by the firm recently outlines just how staggering Microsoft’s gaming portfolio has been – and continues to be.
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It’s worth stressing that many of the franchises Microsoft is referring to are decades old and have pieced together their lifetime revenue over many years. For instance, Warcraft, Elder Scrolls, Gears of War, Diablo, and Halo. Microsoft has little in the way of new IP under that umbrella, and even the gem of the collection – Call of Duty – was acquired after being on the market for more than 20 years.
Here’s the snippet from the financial update that was dug up by TweakTown:
We are bringing great games to more people on more devices. With our acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, which closed October 2023, we’ve added hundreds of millions of players to our ecosystem.
We now have 20 franchises that have generated over $1 billion in lifetime revenue—from Candy Crush, Diablo, and Halo, to Warcraft, Elder Scrolls, and Gears of War. And with Xbox cloud gaming, we continue to innovate to offer players more ways to experience the games they love—where, when, and how they want.
The financial update gassed up the Xbox Game Pass subscription service to no end, singing the praises of the paid-for platform that boasts ‘over 400 first- and third-party console and PC titles’. It’s not the be-all and end-all, though – the ecosystem’s cloud gaming platform was also spotlighted, even if competition is running rampant.
Xbox and our cloud gaming services face competition from various online gaming ecosystems and game streaming services, including those operated by Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Tencent. We also compete with other providers of entertainment services such as video streaming platforms.
It’s a dog-eat-dog world, that’s for sure.
This year, Microsoft’s gaming revenue increased by 39% – $6 billion – thanks to growth in Xbox content and services, it was revealed. Microsoft is putting a lot of faith in the recent ABK acquisition to further bolster growth going forward: ‘The acquisition will accelerate the growth in our gaming business across mobile, PC, console, and cloud gaming.’
What’s your favourite Microsoft-backed franchise that has made more than $1 billion in its lifetime? Let us know on the Insider Gaming forum.
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