Microsoft Q2 FY18 Earnings: Xbox One X boosts Gaming revenue by 8%

Microsoft has just revealed its FY18 Q2 earnings and Gaming revenue has once again increased for the company.

Though Microsoft doesn’t reveal the number of Xbox consoles sold anymore, the company does post Xbox Live engagement as well as its total Gaming revenue numbers. Thanks to the launch of the Xbox One X in November and some tempting deals on Xbox One S systems, Gaming revenue increased by 8% in the second quarter of Microsoft’s 2018 fiscal year. Microsoft specifically noted that the growth was “driven by [14%] Xbox hardware revenue growth from the Xbox One X launch.” Xbox software and services on the other hand only grew by 4%. As usual, Xbox Live monthly active users grew 7%  YoY to 59 million. Total Gaming revenue reached $3.92 billion.

When the Xbox One X released on November 7, 2017, the highly anticipated console exceeded many people’s expectations. Retailers from around the world, including GameStop, were selling out of their initial allotments of the system despite its $499 price tag that some analysts thought would hurt its appeal. Xbox executives even warned that certain regions would see shortages of the Xbox One X.

On top of the launch of the Xbox One X, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds may have given Xbox Live a big boost. The battle royale released into Xbox Game Preview exclusively on Xbox One in early December, and has already hit over 4 million players.

For those interested, the company’s first quarter results from October saw Gaming revenue increase by 1% with Xbox software and services revenue growth of 21% offset by lower hardware revenue, according to Microsoft. During Q1, Gaming revenue reached $1.896 billion before the holiday season with Xbox Live active users growing 13% YoY to 53 million users.

You can read the full report here.