Fortnite helps Xbox's business turnover jump 39% to $ 2.29 billion

The Xbox division helped Microsoft grow its financial results in the fourth quarter of its 2018 fiscal year, the company said in its quarterly financial report. The video game industry's business turnover was $ 2.29 billion in the three-month period ended June 30, an increase of 39% over at the same time of the previous year. Xbox software and services, "reads Microsoft's press release. "The Xbox software and services business revenue grew 36%, mainly due to the strength of third-party titles."

To translate this, Microsoft is recording an increase in revenue from the Xbox platform, the consumers rushing to buy games and microtransactions. The company specifically points to the "strength of the title of third party", which is almost certainly a reference to the shooter of the Fortnite Royal People's Battle. This game has made nearly $ 1 billion in digital sales since its debut last year, and much of that figure has come in recent months, according to research firm SuperData

Fortnite is popular on mobile, PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One, and gamers spend money to get their hands on virtual cosmetic items. When fans make these purchases through the Xbox Store, Microsoft takes a 30% discount. Other popular games like PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds probably have the same effect, but Microsoft publishes it on Xbox One, so this is not a third-party title.

But games like Fortnite and PUBG are not just sending more microtransaction sales to Microsoft. The number of people using the service is also increasing, the monthly active Xbox Live players rising from 53 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 to 57 million in the last quarter.

"Monthly active users of Xbox Live grew by 8 [percent]" Reads Microsoft financial material. "With continued growth on Xbox One, Windows 10 and mobile platforms."

Microsoft has also probably seen new users of Xbox Live from a surprising platform: the Nintendo Switch. The universal version of Bedrock's Minecraft hit Nintendo Switch on June 26, which allowed it to connect to Xbox Live on this game thanks to the Nintendo pocket / home console. Some Switch players may have connected to Xbox Live for the very first time.