Microsoft’s gaming revenue surges 44% in Q1 2019

Microsoft released its results for Q1 of financial year 2019, and it showed increased gaming revenue by 44 percent compared to the same period last year.

Xbox software and services saw a 36 percent increase in revenue. Microsoft notes that this is mostly due to third-party support. Microsoft has struggled to develop as deep a stream of first-party exclusives, both in terms of quality and quantity, as its rival Sony has with its PlayStation 4. In the last NPD monthly report for best-selling games in the U.S., the PlayStation 4 exclusive Marvel’s Spider-Man was at No. 1, while the Xbox One and PC release Forza Horizon 4 was at No. 7 (posting record numbers for the racing franchise).