Xbox Series X|S sales plummet

The last 24 hours have not been very pleasant for the Xbox. Apart from the CMA blockade on the Activision purchase, we now have to add the latest tax report from Microsoft. The people of Redmond announced that Xbox Series X|S sales down 30% last quarter.

“Xbox hardware revenue was down 30% year-over-year, helped by increased console shipments.”

Microsoft.

The figure, of course, is surprising, especially since, according to Microsoft, it has nothing to do with the shortage of launches that the Xbox brand has had in the past year and a half. The company guarantees that The main reason for the current situation is still related to problems in the supply chain.

Although the technology sector began to recover from a shortage of components at the end of last year, some companies, including Microsoft, still see no light at the end of the tunnel. Xbox Series X and Series S, and especially the first, are not selling well because they could not even meet demand in different territories of the world.

The panorama contrasts significantly with the panorama of the main rival. Sony announces record numbers for PS5which has already surpassed the level of sales of the PlayStation 4. The Japanese claim that stock issues are a thing of the past, and for several months now their equipment can be found in stores around the world.

Now, although the Xbox hardware is going through hard times, the same cannot be said about the services. That division, which includes offerings like Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming, grew 3% year-on-year in the third quarter. Microsoft representatives note that their game subscriptions continue to be an important growth factor.

This data is, without a doubt, great news for Xbox, as not having an exclusive AAA title for 18 months didn’t have too much of a negative impact.; at least in economic terms. This is not the case as the platform has been widely criticized for going under the radar in terms of launch. first party this means. If there are no more obstacles on the way, the drought will end with the advent of Starfield next September.

CMA slows down ambitious Xbox strategy

This Wednesday, the CMA, the UK regulator, announced that blocks purchase of Activision Blizzard King Microsoft. This was a move that few people expected as various financial media outlets, including Financial Timesassured that approval was inevitable.

According to the CMA, his ban is not based on fears related to fate. call of Dutybut to the dominance that Microsoft has in the sector Cloud Games, is considered the future of video games. The death of Stadia, combined with the slow rise of Nvidia GeForce Now, Amazon Luna and PlayStation Plus, makes Xbox Cloud Gaming the best option for the future.

“The deal will solidify Microsoft’s market edge by giving it control over critical gaming content such as call of Duty, Overwatch And World of Warcraft. Evidence available to the CMA indicates that, without the merger, Activision will begin offering games via cloud platforms for the foreseeable future.”

Despite everything, Microsoft and Activision plan to appeal the decision. The problem is that the new review process could update the definition to 2024…