Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
Trending
  • Saros review
  • Arc Raiders
  • The Boys S5
  • Best turn-based RPGs
  • Submit your clips. Win prizes
  • Delta Force giveaway
Don't miss these
Xbox Gamescom 2023 logo featuring a stylized city skyline in green
Xbox Microsoft goes back to Xbox and ditches Microsoft Gaming as leaders admit "players are frustrated"
Xbox Game Pass logo on a green background
Games The price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is falling, and all it cost was day one access to new Call of Duty games
Google Stadia
Games Former Google Stadia lead says the whole industry is "in trouble," but don't worry, AI will help
Xbox Series S
Games Xbox has changed its name and backtracked on Game Pass prices, but is it too little too late?
Xbox
Xbox Xbox will "reevaluate" its approach to exclusive games and AI, new CEO and CCO say
Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Xbox Game Pass gets "grim prognosis" from ex-Sony CEO, new Xbox head tells him they should "chat"
Cyberpunk 2077 character Johnny Silverhand
Games Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Skyrim help make PC game sales more diverse than console – report
Close up of Xbox button on Asus ROG Xbox Ally X handheld.
Xbox Your next Xbox could come in Asus, MSI, and Microsoft flavors if Project Helix rumors ring true
Xbox
Games Microsoft's weird "This is an Xbox" marketing appears to be getting quietly swept under the rug amid leadership changes
GTA 6
Grand Theft Auto With GTA 6 PC release unconfirmed, Rockstar leak suggests GTA Online gets 97% of cash from consoles
Xbox Game Pass deals
Xbox The best Xbox Game Pass deals in April 2026
Phil Spencer
Xbox Xbox boss Phil Spencer is leaving, and a Microsoft AI exec is taking over with president Sarah Bond also resigning
Halo Infinite Season 2
Xbox As Xbox exclusives come to PS5 and Switch 2, new CEO says "we're going to keep meeting players where they are"
Xbox Project Helix logo on a dark desert background
Hardware "Memory costs will impact pricing, and will impact availability" of Xbox's Project Helix console, Asha Sharma warns
Xbox Series X
Xbox Microsoft CEO says "we'll always" keep investing in gaming amid Xbox's announcement of mysterious Project Helix
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
  1. Games

Microsoft reports Xbox hardware revenue down 29%, and 1% growth in content and services like Game Pass blunted by "a decline in first-party content"

News
By Dustin Bailey published 29 October 2025

Don't worry, though, AI is still making the numbers go up

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Halo: Campaign Evolved screenshot
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
0
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Subscribe to our newsletter

The vibes around Xbox aren't great right now, and Microsoft's latest financial report puts some hard numbers to that feeling. Hardware revenue continues to decline, and gaming revenue as a whole is effectively flat. That's not typically the kind of thing growth-minded investors like to hear – especially when Microsoft's cloud and AI services under the Azure brand are continuing to rapidly expand.

"Gaming revenue decreased $113 million or 2% driven by a decline in Xbox hardware, offset in part by growth in Xbox content and services," Microsoft says in its FY26 Q1 financial report. "Xbox hardware revenue decreased 29% driven by lower volume of consoles sold. Xbox content and services revenue increased 1% on a strong prior year comparable with growth in Xbox Game Pass and third-party content, offset in part by a decline in first-party content."

These sorts of declines in Xbox hardware have been going for years, and a 29% decline isn't even unprecedented – but it feels especially notable to see these figures reported as Microsoft continues to turn up the price of Xbox consoles. Bigger profit margins won't necessarily mean bigger revenue, but you've gotta try to get the graphs evened out somehow, right?

Article continues below
You may like
  • Phone reading "this is an Xbox" Xbox revenue declines across the board year-over-year with Microsoft CFO blaming a fall off in first-party game sales
  • Xbox Game Pass Xbox Game Pass gets "grim prognosis" from ex-Sony CEO, new Xbox head tells him they should "chat"
  • Cortana Xbox co-creator says Project Helix will struggle with Microsoft investors "psychotically interested" in AI

Notably, these figures are compared against the Q1 results of FY25, which is when the results of the Activision Blizzard acquisition hit the balance sheets. In that quarter, gaming revenue was up by 43% thanks to all the new revenue streams from games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. One thing was very familiar, though – that quarter also saw Xbox hardware revenue down 29%.

If you're an investor, you might prefer to see stats like those for Microsoft Cloud (up 26%), LinkedIn (up 10%), or Azure (up a whopping 40%). Azure covers a wide array of cloud and AI services, and with that kind of growth, you might start to see why Microsoft seems a lot more enthusiastic about AI than it does actually employing people to make games.

Take-Two CEO says AI is "going to be really, really bad" at making video games and probably couldn't even come up with the GTA 6 marketing plan.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
TOPICS
Microsoft Xbox Game Studios Xbox Game Pass
CATEGORIES
Xbox Series X Xbox One Platforms Xbox
Dustin Bailey
Dustin Bailey
Social Links Navigation
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
Phone reading "this is an Xbox"
Games Xbox revenue declines across the board year-over-year with Microsoft CFO blaming a fall off in first-party game sales
 
 
Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Xbox Game Pass gets "grim prognosis" from ex-Sony CEO, new Xbox head tells him they should "chat"
 
 
Cortana
Xbox Xbox co-creator says Project Helix will struggle with Microsoft investors "psychotically interested" in AI
 
 
Halo
Games Xbox co-founder says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has "a hammer called gen AI" and "there's a nail with an Xbox logo"
 
 
Xbox Series S
Games Xbox has changed its name and backtracked on Game Pass prices, but is it too little too late?
 
 
Fortnite
Games Xbox co-creator says "it's just not true" gaming is on the decline despite layoff apocalypse
 
 
Latest in Games
Kliff resting by a stream in a forest in Crimson Desert
Open World Games Despite Crimson Desert's popularity, almost 80% of Steam players haven't made it halfway through the story yet
 
 
Arc Raiders Shoring up Defenses
Third Person Shooters How to complete Shoring Up Defenses in Arc Raiders
 
 
Steam and Valve's Gabe Newell
Games 14 years ago, Valve boss Gabe Newell thought Steam would be replaced in "2 or 3 years"
 
 
Arc Raiders batten the hatches
Third Person Shooters Where to find the seawall, shoreline, and oil pipe in Arc Raiders
 
 
Final Fantasy 14: Evercold
Final Fantasy Final Fantasy 14 Evercold promises to scrap the MMO's 2-minute meta and change jobs for the better
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem gameplay reveal
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem director teases more "rampaging" in the game's upcoming mini game DLC
 
 
Latest in News
Kliff resting by a stream in a forest in Crimson Desert
Open World Games Despite Crimson Desert's popularity, almost 80% of Steam players haven't made it halfway through the story yet
 
 
The Boys
Superhero Shows Soldier Boy never being an actual soldier may be a focal point in spin-off Vought Rising
 
 
Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon season 3
Fantasy Shows House of the Dragon season 3 trailer cleverly sets-up a major tragedy to come from George R.R. Martin's book
 
 
Hugh Jackman petting a sheep in new movie The Sheep Detectives
Comedy Movies Wolverine star Hugh Jackman breaks his Rotten Tomatoes record… with a talking sheep movie
 
 
Steam and Valve's Gabe Newell
Games 14 years ago, Valve boss Gabe Newell thought Steam would be replaced in "2 or 3 years"
 
 
Final Fantasy 14: Evercold
Final Fantasy Final Fantasy 14 Evercold promises to scrap the MMO's 2-minute meta and change jobs for the better
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Kliff resting by a stream in a forest in Crimson Desert
    1
    Despite Crimson Desert's popularity, almost 80% of Steam players haven't made it halfway through the story yet, proving how massive Pearl Abyss's open world is
  2. 2
    The Boys fans thinks season 5 is being "too scared" so far when it comes to killing off major characters: "Someone needs to die this week"
  3. 3
    I love Slay the Spire 2, I hate Slay the Spire 2
  4. 4
    The Steam Controller doesn't appear to be a hit for competitive play, so here are the alternatives I'd recommend instead
  5. 5
    I'm gassed that Valve is "hard at work" on Steam Deck 2, but let's get the Steam Machine out of the way first

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...