Microsoft released its Q1 2025 results today, and when it comes to the gaming side of things it appears things are doing well outside of hardware sales which continue to plummet.
Xbox content and services revenue was up 61% year over year, with 53% of that accounted for from the acquisition of Activision. This quarter saw the company make significant changes to its Game Pass subscription service with the changing of its tiers as well as a price increase. The service also saw its first ever Call Of Duty added with Modern Warfare 3. Last week Black Ops 6 released with it being day one in the ultimate and PC tiers however that launch does not fall in this reported quarter (more on this later).
The one negative to take away from todays report on the Xbox side of things comes in the form of hardware. Xbox hardware sales dipped 29% year over year as the console continues to lag behind. While this was to be expected as the company pushes towards more platforms and puts more of an emphasis on Game Pass rather than hardware it's concerning nonetheless.
Black Ops 6 Biggest Call Of Duty Launch Ever
While not part of the Q1 earnings, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella touched on last weeks launch of Call Of Duty Black Ops 6. According to Nadella Black Ops 6 has had the best launch weekend in the history of the franchise and brought the biggest single day new Game Pass subscriptions to the service, surpassing the record previously set by Starfield last year.
And while many suspected Black Ops 6 being on Game Pass may hurt sales, Nadella says sales were up over 60% on Steam and PlayStation compared to last years Modern Warfare 3. While no specific sales figures were given this is certainly a great thing for all involved as Black Ops 6 has impressed many gamers and critics alike, including us at Gamer Social Club.
"Thank you to our players around the world for making Black Ops 6 the biggest Call of Duty launch ever. Our goal from the start has been to bring this great game to as many players as possible wherever they are, however they play,” Call of Duty GM Matt Cox said in a statement. “Black Ops 6 is an amazing game, and the response from the Call of Duty community has been incredible. This is only the beginning. Nuketown is only days away and Season 1 is right around the corner. We're just getting started."
It still remains to be seen just how big of an impact Black Ops 6 has made on Game Pass and if Xbox's big bet to put the game on the service has paid off, but early returns seem to point to this being the case.
