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Microsoft revealed their financial report for the Q4 2024 period and things are not looking good for the Xbox hardware which was 42 per cent down from the Q3 period. It's not all bad news since content and services as well as gaming revenue is up thanks to Activision Blizzard King.
In the earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood provided some interesting answers when asked about Xbox and what the future holds for Microsoft's gaming division.
As reported by The Verge's Tom Warren, Nadella mentioned a larger focus on PC gaming and expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming as some of the goals for Microsoft, while Hood added that Xbox could be moving towards a software annuity and subscription business, which is Game Pass.
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There was no mention of Xbox hardware in their answers which is quite telling. Reports and rumours about Xbox's strategy change for the next-gen have been swirling around ever since the company announced their plans to put some games on the competitors' platforms.
Some rumours suggested that the next-gen Xbox would be a Windows-powered hybrid console that would allow players to install and play Steam, Epic Games Store and other games. The console would reportedly be targeted towards gaming enthusiasts and hardcore Xbox fans.
A push towards PC, especially with Game Pass is not that surprising since Xbox failed to attract the numbers they wanted with their subscription service on PC. This is mainly due to a poor first-party app, which is severely behind the best storefronts on PC like Steam.
It will be interesting to see how Xbox's new strategy pans out when the next-gen hardware arrives in a couple of years.
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