Xbox Live nears 90 million users as Game Pass tops 10 million subscribers

Microsoft has announced record engagement figures for gaming services including Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass.

Xbox Live active users approached 90 million and Game Pass subscribers topped 10 million during the company’s third financial quarter ended March 31, 2020.

“People everywhere are turning to gaming to sustain human connection while practising social distancing and we continue to deliver new exclusive first and third-party content to attract and retain gamers,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday.

“We saw all-time record engagement this quarter, with nearly 90 million active users of Xbox Live, led by the strength on and off-console.

“Xbox Game Pass has more than 10 million subscribers and we’re seeing increased monetisation of in-game content and services.

“And our Project xCloud gaming service now has hundreds of thousands of users in preview across seven countries, with eight more launching in the coming weeks.”

Microsoft’s third quarter gaming revenue declined by 1% ($14 million) year-over-year to $2.35 billion.

Xbox hardware revenue fell 20%, “primarily due to a decrease in price of consoles sold”, while Xbox content and services revenue grew 2% ($33 million), “primarily due to increased engagement following stay-at-home guidelines, offset in part by a high prior year comparable primarily from a third-party title”, most likely Fortnite.

While social distancing measures designed to combat the coronavirus pandemic have led to “a big flood” of new customers for Xbox, games boss Phil Spencer has stressed that Microsoft doesn’t want to exploit the situation.

The platform holder confirmed May’s Xbox Live Games with Gold titles on Tuesday, while upcoming Xbox Games Pass titles include Red Dead Redemption 2.

Microsoft recently reiterated that it plans to launch its next-gen console, Xbox Series X, during the 2020 holiday season, amid claims the system could be delayed due to disruption caused by the coronavirus.

And Spencer suggested last week that Microsoft will showcase Xbox Series X games in the near future.