Xbox Game Pass Surges with Indiana Jones, Call of Duty; Hardware Sales Decline

During today's Q2 investors call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Indiana Jones and The Great Circle has reached an impressive milestone of 4 million players. This news comes as a highlight in an otherwise routine earnings report for the gaming division, with MachineGames' latest release earning not only critical acclaim but also numerous awards.

Despite the challenge of tracking exact sales figures due to its inclusion in Xbox Game Pass, the achievement of 4 million players is significant, especially for a modern, AAA title featuring the iconic Indiana Jones. Our review praised it as an "irresistible and immersive global treasure hunt," and it has been nominated for Game of the Year and Best Xbox game. You can delve deeper into our thoughts by reading our full review here.

Elsewhere in the Xbox ecosystem, Microsoft shared that Game Pass on PC saw a 30% growth last quarter, setting a new record for quarterly revenue. Additionally, cloud gaming logged an impressive 140 million hours of streaming, contributing to a 2% increase in Xbox content and service revenue.

However, challenges remain. Despite the robust performance of Game Pass, overall gaming revenue fell by 7%, and Xbox hardware revenue saw a significant decline of 29%.

What does this mean for Microsoft? While there's still work to be done in the console and hardware sectors, the company's strategic focus on Game Pass seems to be yielding positive results. The growth of Game Pass on PC is particularly notable, bolstered by a strong lineup of releases last quarter, including Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Microsoft Flight Simulator, all available day one for Ultimate subscribers.