According to Microsoft, overall revenues increased by 20% to $51.7 billion, its net income increased by 21% to $18.8 billion, and revenues for its other divisions also improved.
Microsoft’s more personal computing segment, which includes OEM and commercial Windows revenues, search and news advertising, the Surface product line, and Xbox, reported revenue growth of 15% to $17.5 billion. Windows revenues and search and news advertising revenue saw the largest growth.
As a result of growth in first-party titles and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, gaming revenue increased 411 million or 8% while content and service revenue rose 10%, which is better than the 2% and 4% declines in the prior two quarters.Microsoft’s Xbox hardware revenue increased by 4% due to continued demand for Xbox Series XS.
During the quarter, Halo: Infinite was added to Game Pass, contributing to an increase in Xbox content revenue. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, revealed that 18 million people have played Forza Horizon 5, and more than 20 million people have played Halo: Infinite, making it the biggest Halo launch in history. He mentioned that Microsoft Cloud posted a record quarter with $22 billion in revenue, a 32% increase over the same period last year.
Additionally, it was disclosed that Microsoft’s operating expenses increased 17% year-on-year, primarily due to investments in gaming, such as ZeniMax, search and news advertising, and Windows marketing.
Activision Blizzard’s acquisition by Microsoft is not mentioned in the report.
