Microsoft sees robust demand for its upcoming Xbox Series consoles

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he is delighted by early reviews for the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X gaming consoles slated to be launched next month

Microsoft CEO is delighted by early reviews and excitement for the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, which will be the most affordable and the most powerful consoles available next month.

"Our Xbox Game Pass service has more than 15 million subscribers," Nadella said during the company's fiscal Q1 earnings call on Tuesday.

"Quality differentiated content is the flywheel behind the service's growth, and the addition of EA Play next month, along with our pending acquisition of ZeniMax Media, will add more of the world's most iconic franchises to the more than 100 high-quality games already available and materially increases our ability to increase content," he elaborated.

Microsoft beefed up Game Pass this year by adding plenty more titles for players to enjoy.

The company announced that EA Play would be added to Game Pass Ultimate in the coming months, bringing popular franchises like FIFA and Battlefield to the platform at no extra cost.

EA Play will arrive on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on November 10, the same day that Microsoft is launching both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles.

"In gaming, we expect revenue growth in the high 20 per cent range. We expect very strong demand following the launch of our next generation Xbox Series X and S consoles, driving supply-constrained hardware revenue growth of approximately 40 per cent," said Amy Hood, Microsoft CFO.

Microsoft had said that it plans to acquire US-based ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, one of the largest, privately held game developers and publishers in the world, for $7.5 billion.

--IANS

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