Xbox Game Pass is profitable for Microsoft

Xbox Game Pass is profitable for Microsoft, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer confirmed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Spencer did not specify how long Microsoft has been making money on the subscription service, but noted that the Xbox Game Pass accounts for about 10-15% of today's revenue of Microsoft's gaming division.

On consoles, the growth of subscribers has slowed down now, but on the contrary, it is actively growing on PCs. Spencer notes that this is natural, because there are more computer users in the world.

"On the PC, we are seeing incredible dynamics . . . On consoles, growth has slowed down now, mainly because many are already using the Xbox Game Pass.

At some point, the upper limit for those who want to subscribe will be reached here," Spencer said.

Spencer does not expect the Xbox Game Pass to become the main source of profit for Microsoft — according to his forecasts, revenue from the subscription service will remain within 10-15% of the total for the foreseeable future.

There is no question of any jump to 60-70%. According to Spencer, shareware games bring the most money in the industry today - this is the most popular business model.

At the same time, Microsoft plans to develop in different directions and thanks to different offers — subscription, traditional sale of games on PCs and consoles, free games, cloud gaming on smartphones and televisions, sales of consoles and accessories.

On October 26, Microsoft boasted about the new Xbox successes and said that Game Pass and Xbox Series S attract many newcomers to its gaming ecosystem.