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Xbox Series generation helped make $80.8 billion for Microsoft

Microsoft has generated over $80 billion so far throughout the Xbox Series console generation, including game sales and subscriptions across all platforms.

www.tweaktown.com

Microsoft has generated over $80 billion so far throughout the Xbox Series console generation, including game sales and subscriptions across all platforms.​

Derek StricklandFeb 14, 2025 5:35 PM CST
Senior Gaming Editor
TL;DR:The Xbox ecosystem has generated over $80 billion for Microsoft in the five fiscal years since the Xbox Series consoles released.


The entirety of the Xbox ecosystem has generated over $80 billion for Microsoft throughout the Xbox Series console generation.

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Microsoft has made over $80.8 billion in revenue across the last five fiscal years since the Xbox Series was introduced. The number is based on indirect estimates gleaned from Microsoft's financials and includes the totality of the Xbox brand. Revenues made from game sales and subscriptions across all platforms are part of the grand sum, including things like Battle.net microtransactions, World of Warcraft and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, and of course game sales made on competing stores like the PlayStation Store, Nintendo eShop, and Steam.

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Over the past five fiscal years, Xbox's wide-spanning platform generated $80.8 billion in total revenues. Microsoft splits Xbox revenue into two parts: Hardware, which includes Xbox console sales and accessories, and Content and Services, which is game sales, subscriptions, microtransactions, etc.

Microsoft made $66.13 billion from Content and Services, or 81% of total revenues. Hardware, which is sold at a loss, made $14.61 billion in the same period and accounted for 19% of total cumulative revenues.

We can get a bit more technical with the data, too. Remember that the Xbox Series X/S duo launched in November 2020, so that's Q2FY21. To get a better, more informed picture on how much Microsoft made throughout the Xbox Series generation, we can just subtract Q1FY21 data from the total year FY21 numbers because the Xbox Series consoles didn't exist at the time.

Given that adjustment, the breakdown looks like this:

• Content & Services - $63.31 billion (82%)
• Hardware - $14.34 billion (18%)
• Cumulative total - $77.71 billion

It's difficult to add more context to these figures because Microsoft withholds key information from investors and analysts, but that hasn't stopped many firms from creating their own Xbox hardware shipment estimates.

One number cruncher has laid out a compelling case as to why Xbox Series gen 9 console shipments could be as high as 35.9 million.

AMD has confirmed that over 100 million Gen 9 consoles have been shipped worldwide as of December 2024, and Sony has also confirmed that the PlayStation 5 has reached 75 million global shipments.

Damn, makes Sony's revenues seem like chump change. Sony bros, I don't feel so good

 

[nowhat]

Xbox Series generation helped make $80.8 billion for Microsoft

Microsoft has generated over $80 billion so far throughout the Xbox Series console generation, including game sales and subscriptions across all platforms.

www.tweaktown.com

Damn, makes Sony's revenues seem like chump change. Sony bros, I don't feel so good

Now let's see Microsoft's profits. Oh wait, they don't release them specifically for gaming. Funny, that.

 

[Robb]

Hardware, which is sold at a loss, made $14.61 billion in [revenue]

That quote alone should be telling about how pointless this metric is when viewed in isolation.

 

[Felessan]

"is based on indirect estimates"
And 5 years... come on... guys so desperate... next time it'll be 10 years for numbers look good

 

[Pedro Motta]

Aaron Fatberg is working double time on these band-aid hit pieces.

 

[Synastry]

That's alot of money so much so that Forza Horizon 5 is coming to PS5 in spring.

Damage control from xbox fans just keeps getting funnier.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

"is based on indirect estimates"
And 5 years... come on... guys so desperate... next time it'll be 10 years for numbers look good

4 years, tbf.

Somebody should post the total revenue for PS5 gen since launch.

 

[lh032]

"revenues"

 

[GHG]

One number cruncher has laid out a compelling case as to why Xbox Series gen 9 console shipments could be as high as 35.9 million.

AMD has confirmed that over 100 million Gen 9 consoles have been shipped worldwide as of December 2024, and Sony has also confirmed that the PlayStation 5 has reached 75 million global shipments.

 

[DAHGAMING]

Xbox is massive everywhere we go .

 

[Madjaba]

All those revenues are impressive given the fact that they seem to have generated zero net margin.

 

[Viruz]

Impressive numbers for xbox

 

[azertydu91]

That's some kind of R.Kelly math right there.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Xbox has a bright future ahead.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Stonks folks

S O T N S K

 

[tamago84]

The more money they make the more they actually lose money

 

[SenkiDala]

That quote alone should be telling about how pointless this metric is when viewed in isolation.

Yeah because money made from consoles sales is real money but money made through other ways (subscriptions, games sales etc) is Monopoly fake money.

 

[Madjaba]

Yeah because money made from consoles sales is real money but money made through other ways (subscriptions, games sales etc) is Monopoly fake money.

Nope because they are saying that it is "revenue made at a loss" so what's the point of talking about it if they are actually losing money in the end ?

 

[Panajev2001a]

Nope because they are saying that it is "revenue made at a loss" so what's the point of talking about it if they are actually losing money in the end ?

Copium?

 

[Sintoid]

How much did the Activision Blizzard acquisiton cost?

 

[Robb]

Yeah because money made from consoles sales is real money but money made through other ways (subscriptions, games sales etc) is Monopoly fake money.

There was zero money made, at least from console sales, which was my point.

 

[ZehDon]

What an... odd article. With their hardware sold at a loss, about $15b of the $80b actually generated a loss. Let's bring the revenue down to $60b, from which Microsoft stands to make some kind of profit from its content and services. We know Microsoft spends about a billion a year on Game Pass, so across the five years, we're already down to $55b. Studios don't run for free, and servers cost money to run, and so forth, so we can comfortably get to $40b with napkin math before we even really start digging at the numbers proper to actually ask what kind of money Xbox might create for them profit wise. Is it a total loss? Probably not. But the margins would look to be pretty tight.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

What an... odd article. With their hardware sold at a loss, about $15b of the $80b actually generated a loss. Let's bring the revenue down to $60b, from which Microsoft stands to make some kind of profit from its content and services. We know Microsoft spends about a billion a year on Game Pass, so across the five years, we're already down to $55b. Studios don't run for free, and servers cost money to run, and so forth, so we can comfortably get to $40b with napkin math before we even really start digging at the numbers proper to actually ask what kind of money Xbox might create for them profit wise. Is it a total loss? Probably not. But the margins would look to be pretty tight.

Why do people keep saying current-gen has been around for 5 years?

Current-gen started in november 2020, not january 2020.

 

[Three]

4 years, tbf.

Somebody should post the total revenue for PS5 gen since launch.

PS makes around $27B per year consistently. If you stretch it to 5 years like this silly article has it would be ~$135B. If you do the actual correct 4years it would be ~$108B.

 

[BlackTron]

I like how the headline reports Microsoft's revenue as fact and the article mentions how it's all a big estimate.

They have a separate article link for how someone found 35.9mil sales out of 25. The funny thing is they never actually explain. They just say that they used very complex methods and in the end they find twice as many sales in a few months than they estimate Xbox got all last year. It's never actually explained, just "trust me bro smart people crunched it"

 

[Skifi28]

Wake me up if MS ever announces actual profits from gaming.

 

[kazuyamishima]

 

[sendit]

 

[Bungie]

Once you factor the losses & what's been spent. It still seems profitable enough & it's only been 4ish years. Not bad.

 

[Madjaba]

Copium?

About what exactly, please instruct me Senseï.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

Who cares about revenue?

That’s not how you “make” money

Yeah they did a lot of business, whoop de do, was any of it profitable?

 

[TheKratos]

I don't believe this at all, even if number gets cloae that that I bet a large chunk is attributed to COD takeover.

 

[Three]

About what exactly, please instruct me Senseï.

He's saying that's the point of talking about this. To make it seem like the gen is doing great.

 

[Astray]

That Sony earnings release sure got people to inexplicably meltdown in all sorts of ways.

Derek and Welfare have been hard at work desperately trying to prove that Xbox Series shipped 35m units lifetime and not 25m. I have absolutely no clue why they're taking things so personally.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

That Sony earnings release sure got people to inexplicably meltdown in all sorts of ways.

Derek and Welfare have been hard at work desperately trying to prove that Xbox Series shipped 35m units lifetime and not 25m. I have absolutely no clue why they're taking things so personally.

Only realised it was Derek Strickland once you’d pointed it out.

Just ban him as a source, mods

 

[BlackTron]

That Sony earnings release sure got people to inexplicably meltdown in all sorts of ways.

Derek and Welfare have been hard at work desperately trying to prove that Xbox Series shipped 35m units lifetime and not 25m. I have absolutely no clue why they're taking things so personally.

They want the world to remember N64 sales, not Dreamcast sales.

 

[Woopah]

Xbox Series generation helped make $80.8 billion for Microsoft

Microsoft has generated over $80 billion so far throughout the Xbox Series console generation, including game sales and subscriptions across all platforms.

www.tweaktown.com

Damn, makes Sony's revenues seem like chump change. Sony bros, I don't feel so good

Why are you saying it makes Sony's revenue seem like chump change? How much revenue do you think Sony made from PS5?

 

[Astray]

Only realised it was Derek Strickland once you’d pointed it out.

Just ban him as a source, mods

Dude you need to go to Twitter, he's been fighting the fight of his life lmfao.

This Sony Q3 release has been endless entertainment.

They want the world to remember N64 sales, not Dreamcast sales.

It's like what people accuse Sony of with PS2 sales, but somehow more pathetic.

"No I only failed THIS MUCH".

Why are you saying it makes Sony's revenue seem like chump change? How much revenue do you think Sony made from PS5?

The meltdown continues on.

Weird that it's this piece of info that got them to lose it like this and not Forza Horizon's PS5 port announcement.

 

[nowhat]

I have absolutely no clue why they're taking things so personally.

 

[Woopah]

Dude you need to go to Twitter, he's been fighting the fight of his life lmfao.

This Sony Q3 release has been endless entertainment.


It's like what people accuse Sony of with PS2 sales, but somehow more pathetic.

"No I only failed THIS MUCH".


The meltdown continues on.

Weird that it's this piece of info that got them to lose it like this and not Forza Horizon's PS5 port announcement.

Seens weird to claim something is "chump change" if you don't even know what the number is.

 

[Astray]

They're not getting any!

That's the funny part of all this.

 

[Astray]

Seens weird to claim something is "chump chsnge" if you don't even know what the number is.

?

You must have misquoted cause I didn't say that lol.

 

[nowhat]

They're not getting any!

That's the funny part of all this.

I guess there are the views.

But up-until-not-so-recently there was the Xbox ambassador program. Perhaps they wish it to be reinstated.

 

[JawaSaysUtinni]

This is a lazy post. No critical analysis, just oh this number is bigger so must be better.

 

[Woopah]

?

You must have misquoted cause I didn't say that lol.

I was commenting on what the OP said, didn't mean "you" specifically. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Clear]

Go watch that Bobby Kotick interview, it really puts into perspective the reality of the situation.

When talking about the Activision acquisition they basically laugh at the triviality of the expense of that purchase based on the premise than any deal that represents less than 5% of the market cap is not a risk, and the billions MS spent on that particular purchase is so much less than that its practically a rounding error.

$80b to MS is chump change, its money down the back of Satya Nadella's couch.

 

[SHA]

You mean under the umbrella "this is an Xbox".

 

[nowhat]

$80b to MS is chump change, its money down the back of Satya Nadella's couch.

...and yet, it's pretty blatantly obvious daddy Nadella has said to son Spencer that this spending spree must come to an end, we must have some actual profits as well. Hence the third-party initiative.

 

[SHA]

Microsoft's logic > More is more
Nintendo's logic > Less is more
Playstation's logic >

 

[Mattyp]

Who cares about revenue?

That’s not how you “make” money

Yeah they did a lot of business, whoop de do, was any of it profitable?

That’s exactly how you ‘make’ money. Do you want a business generating $500,000 profit a year on $1m revenue or a business generating $1 dollar profit on $13 billion in revenue?

I don't believe this at all, even if number gets cloae that that I bet a large chunk is attributed to COD takeover.

Don’t believe what? Revenue is reported publicly every quarter it’s easily over $80billion it’s been growing each year far out striping any previous generations.