Microsoft has revealed that Minecraft brings in more revenue from Nintendo and PlayStation as compared to Xbox during its testimony in front of the FTC. This was revealed by Xbox’s CFO, Tim Stuart, while defending Microsoft's bid to acquire Activision-Blizzard for $68.7 billion.
Minecraft was released fully in 2011 and is currently the highest-selling game of all time with over 238 million copies sold. The game set the benchmark for sandbox games and can be easily called one of the most influential games of all time, which is a big reason Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios in 2014 for $2.5 billion. It also had around 600 million monthly active players in 2020 and still remains one of the most popular games in the world. With such an expansive player-base, it is bound to be one of the highest sources of revenue for Microsoft, however, it makes the most money for Xbox from its use on other platforms.
As reported by TweakTown, Tim Stuart revealed during their testimony that Minecraft’s revenue from PlayStation is almost two times more than the amount Xbox brings in. Furthermore, they also said that Minecraft’s revenue from Nintendo is roughly four times compared to Xbox and almost twice the size of PlayStation’s contribution. Stuart also said that “Minecraft is one of the most profitable, if not the most profitable first-party game” for Xbox.
The reason this is an important point for Xbox is because it wants to show that it is a platform-first company that wants to put games on multiple platforms. Additionally, it is also to reinforce Microsoft's claim that it won’t make Call of Duty an Xbox exclusive as that wouldn't be a sound decision. Call of Duty's exclusivity has been the central topic of discussion since the beginning, where Sony refused to take any deals offered by Microsoft. To support Microsoft's statement even further, Xbox’s Phil Spencer swore an oath to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. However, Sony is still not convinced considering an internal email revealed that Xbox Games Studios boss, Matt Booty, was prepared to push PlayStation out of the market by outspending it.
Apart from the main topic of discussion, the FTC hearing also revealed some previously unknown details about Microsoft. For instance, after almost a decade, Microsoft has casually revealed the sales numbers for the last two generations of Xbox consoles. Another document revealed a list of companies Microsoft considered acquiring which included Square Enix, Bungie, Sega, IO Interactive, and a few others. In addition to this, a possible release window for Elder Scrolls 6 and the next generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles was also referenced in some documents.
Source: TweakTown