Number of Xbox Network MAU 2022
First launched in 2002, the Xbox Network is an online multiplayer service associated with Microsoft’s Xbox line of consoles. As of December 2022, Microsoft's online gaming service had approximately 120 million monthly active users, up from just under 40 million at the beginning of 2016. The service was known as Xbox Live before rebranding into Xbox network in March 2023 and to differentiate it from the Xbox Live Gold subscription service offering.
Xbox network is available as a free service, but it also has a paid tier called Xbox Live Gold. Many of the key features that gamers look for in the service, such as online gaming and access to exclusive games, are restricted to the Gold service. The Gold service also includes a Games with Gold program, in which gamers are offered access to digital downloads of games every month. Xbox One gamers have access to two games every month, with the cumulative retail value of these games reaching a combined 712 U.S. dollars throughout 2022.
The Xbox Series S/X is the current generation of Xbox consoles and competes neck-to-neck with Sony's PlayStation 5 which were both released in November 2020, as well as the Nintendo Switch console which was launched in March 2017. When looking North American sales, the Xbox Series S/X has already surpassed the Nintendo Wii U and the Dreamcast but still is lagging behind the PlayStation 5. Additionally, the majority of Xbox gaming revenue is not derived from hardware sales but through gaming content and service sales.
Xbox Live perks
Xbox network is available as a free service, but it also has a paid tier called Xbox Live Gold. Many of the key features that gamers look for in the service, such as online gaming and access to exclusive games, are restricted to the Gold service. The Gold service also includes a Games with Gold program, in which gamers are offered access to digital downloads of games every month. Xbox One gamers have access to two games every month, with the cumulative retail value of these games reaching a combined 712 U.S. dollars throughout 2022.
King of the consoles?
The Xbox Series S/X is the current generation of Xbox consoles and competes neck-to-neck with Sony's PlayStation 5 which were both released in November 2020, as well as the Nintendo Switch console which was launched in March 2017. When looking North American sales, the Xbox Series S/X has already surpassed the Nintendo Wii U and the Dreamcast but still is lagging behind the PlayStation 5. Additionally, the majority of Xbox gaming revenue is not derived from hardware sales but through gaming content and service sales.
