Microsoft's latest earnings report shows that Game Pass has rocketed skyward. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, announced the news during the report's webcast: "All up, Game Pass set a new quarterly record for revenue and grew its PC subscriber base by over 30% as we focus on driving fully paid subscribers."
The growth is an incredible achievement, as the service had largely stalled out in what many considered the plateau for the service. Two games reportedly carried this mark, the first being the most-sold game in 2024, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Nadella confirmed it was also the biggest launch in the series' history.
"Black Ops 6 was the top-selling game on Xbox and PlayStation this quarter and saw more players in its launch quarter than any other paid release in the franchise's history," he stated.
Reaching new heights for players is a stellar accomplishment for a series with over twenty years of history. The continued growth of a decades-old franchise is exactly what Microsoft wanted to see following their $69 billion purchase of Activision/Blizzard, and it seems like it's starting to pay off. Call of Duty wasn't the only game in which large numbers were seen.
Nadella later stated, "We saw rave reviews of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which has already been played by more than four million people." That's not too bad either, especially for what might be the first entry in a continuing series in the future, given its success. Our own reviewer loved it, too.
Overall, Microsoft gaming was carried by their platform services. Earlier today, they revealed that gaming revenue was down 7% year-over-year for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2025. Hardware sales were also down a significant margin by 29%. Content and services revenue is up 2%, offsetting the losses overall.
The news comes on the heels of Microsoft reportedly spending over $450 million on games during the month of December, marking Microsoft as the largest publisher in the world. With Game Pass growth hitting all-time highs, especially in the coveted PC market that Sony is now targeting, things have only started to heat up. In a move announced earlier today, Sony has taken a friendlier approach to their PSN requirements in hopes of appeasing the PC audience.
Both companies are targeting PCs, and it's no wonder, as PCs saw significant growth while consoles have started to stagnate. With a record-high percentage of developers now focusing on PC, Microsoft and Sony will continue to battle in the market for supremacy on whatever screen they can get. Console, PC, or mobile, everything is up for grabs.
Where this leads Microsoft is anyone's bet, but it would be hard to argue anything other than Microsoft continuing their current path. Pushing multiplatform games that include PC, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch has led to monthly active player counts that continue defining the generation's marker for success.
What do you think? Does the news inspire confidence in your Game Pass subscription? Perhaps you recently subscribed, and you're part of the PC Game Pass success story. Let us know below or somewhere in the comments on social media. I'll check out what you have to say.
