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Xbox Game Pass hit new subscriber highs during Microsoft (MSFT) Q2 2023

Microsoft's Q2 2023 earnings results teased that Game Pass did well, but CEO Satya Nadella claimed it saw all-time highs in subscription in the previous quarter.

TJ Denzer

January 24, 2023 3:13 PM

Image via Microsoft

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Gaming wasn’t a huge winner for Microsoft in its Q2 2023 quarter, but any losses it may have had seem to have been covered by the Game Pass program. This sector of Microsoft’s gaming business seemingly did quite well, but we weren’t aware of just how much it played a part until the conference call for Q2 2023. It was there that CEO Satya Nadella shared that Game Pass had a subscriber high during the previous quarter.

Nadella shared this brief comment during the conference call for Microsoft’s Q2 2023 earnings results on January 24, 2023. Microsoft saw a few misses in Q2 in its gaming business, including its hardware sales, which were down 13 percent from the previous year’s quarter. However, even in that reporting, it was suggested that success of the Game Pass program and new subscribers helped to offset the losses. Then, during the call, Nadella revealed briefly that Game Pass subscribers hit a high in Microsoft’s Q2 2023.

Though Microsoft didn’t share an exact number on the Game Pass subscribers either in the earnings results reporting or conference call for Q2 2023, that detail is still impressive. Xbox didn’t have much in the way of huge first party releases through the last quarter. However, Game Pass is still considered to be one of the best deals in video game access and subscriptions. The library is robust and new games are rotated in frequently, giving Xbox and PC players plenty to play on a regular basis.

With Game Pass continuing to succeed where other sectors of Microsoft business faltered a bit, it will be interesting to see how the company works around this. One thing is for sure: Game Pass seems to be one of Microsoft’s primary money makers in the video game scene.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.