Xbox Game Pass driving revenue at Microsoft after crossing 18 million subscribers

Xbox Game Pass has amassed over 18 million subscribers, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. 

The latest milestone means the Netflix-like subscription service -- which offers access to Xbox Games Studios releases and a selection of third-party titles for a monthly fee -- has added 3 million users since September 2020, when it boasted 15 million subscribers.

Nadella also indicated that the broader Xbox Live service is in good health, touting 100 million monthly active users across the entire online ecosystem. It's unclear, though, how many of those are Xbox Live Gold subscribers.

That 100 million MAU figure is also useful to keep in mind given Xbox's recent (failed) push to raise prices for Xbox Live Gold's 1 month, 3 month, and 6 month subscription tiers. The price hike was reversed less than a day after its announcement following negative feedback online, though there's no mention of this in the call with investors.

"We are gaining console share, as gamers recognize the value of our broader ecosystem," he commented during an earnings call. "We are transforming how games are distributed, played, and viewed, bringing cloud gaming in Game Pass to iOS devices and Windows PCs over the next few months."

During its recent Q2 earnings report, Microsoft saw revenue within its More Personal Computing division, which houses its Xbox business, rise to $5.2 billion. The company explained that upswing was driven by third-party sales, first-party titles, and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, with Nadella revealing that third-party titles pulled in over $2 billion in revenue.

He also noted that the launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S was the most successful in company history "with the most devices ever sold in a launch month."