[GameSpot] - Xbox Game Pass Console Revenue Revealed In Microsoft-Activision Blizzard Legal Documents

[343iBot]

Xbox Game Pass revenue has always been a mystery, and Microsoft's been quiet on how its subscription service performs. But in a series of legal documents related to the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger, first uncovered by Tweaktown, we have a number for the first time: Xbox Game Pass for consoles generated $2.9 billion in revenue in 2021.

Specifically, this number was revealed in Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) approval of the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger--one of the first regulatory bodies to give its sign-off. The document mentions "game subscription services," but never mentions Game Pass outright.

Xbox gaming overall earned $16.28 billion in 2021, which means Xbox Game Pass generated around 20% of total 2021 revenue. This revenue also only counts Xbox Game Pass for consoles and not earnings from PC subscriptions. Note that this is revenue only, and not profit, so it's still not an extremely clear metric of how Xbox Game Pass performed in 2021.

The Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger is one of the biggest in gaming, and competitor Sony has been quite unhappy over Call of Duty potentially moving under Microsoft's umbrella. PlayStation head Jim Ryan said that Microsoft only offered to keep Cally of Duty on PlayStation three years after the existing deal expired, something Ryan said was "inadequate on many levels."

So far only Brazil and Saudi Arabia have approved Microsoft's acquisition of Activision. UK's Competition and Markets Authority said its launching a more thorough inquiry into the deal, and it remains to be seen if other regulatory bodies will give their stamp of approval. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella however, said he's "very, very confident" the merger will go through.

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