Minecraft makes more revenue on Switch & PlayStation than on Xbox

Although Microsoft owns Minecraft, the mega-hit block-builder earns much more revenue on competing platforms like the Switch and PlayStation than on Xbox.

[SullysCigar]

This should come as no surprise to anyone, given how xbox sells compared to PlayStation or Switch.

It also highlights why it's dumb to go full exclusive on their IPs. It would make more sense to attempt to draw gamers to their floundering platform with timed exclusivity and mop up the sales on other platforms 6 months to a year later.

In the unlikely event this changes the xbox install base forecast, they could then go full exclusive at a time when it was less impactful on their profits and try to maintain the snowball effect they'd created. But that is a highly unlikely scenario, so better to just make money on other platforms after timed exclusivity, because that's where the gamers are and therefore where the money is.

[lelo2play]

Wouldn't Sony games make more money if they released simultaneously on the Switch, Xbox, PC?
Wouldn't Nintendo games make more money if they released simultaneously on the PS5, Xbox, PC?

[garos82]

my dude you spin more than they gyro machine at my local kebab shop

[Neonridr]

@garos82 - but what they are saying isn't wrong. Any company could make more money if they released on additional platforms.

[crazyCoconuts]

Lelo isn't wrong.
an exclusive's PRIMARY purpose in life is not to make money. If it was, it wouldn't be an exclusive

[Godmars290]

And stop building/designing for their hardware. Just make generic accessible games.

[S2Killinit]

@lelo2play
Yeah but they are saying “it makes more money on these platform” not it makes more because its on more platforms. Very different situation.

[CrimsonWing69]

So nobody should have exclusives? Just release everything on every console and then pick the strongest console to support?

[SullysCigar]

No - you're misunderstanding my words. PlayStation and Switch both have install bases large enough to take larger budget games into profit territory on their own. This also brings the benefit of building brand expectations and value.

Xbox, for the most part, doesn't have this luxury today. So, you end up with lower budget (and often lower quality) games, unless you open them up (at some stage) to where the lions share of the market is. Momentum is important and they lost it years ago, which is why we're seeing massive financial outlays in an attempt to purchase market share.

[CrimsonWing69]

@SullysCigar

That makes absolutely no sense to me.

If anyone has the budget for expensive games it’s Microsoft and having only them put their exclusives on competitor’s platforms would void any reason to buy their console and effectively turn them into Sega… for the Xbox division, I mean.

At that point the Xbox brand should just become a publisher and bow out of the console arena.

Xbox needs their exclusives and they need some that can compete with the amazing titles PlayStation and Nintendo put out.

I think Starfield might be the beginning of that trend and hopefully they can keep it up. Documentation leaked that Evil Within 3 is Xbox exclusive (obviously), that’s another biggie to me and actually will make me turn on the paper weight.

[SullysCigar]

^ @CrimsonWing69, I'm saying they could use TIMED exclusivity to attempt to draw gamers back to xbox. After that, release it on other platforms to recoup losses and hopefully turn a profit, which is nigh-on impossible (on their sole platform, with their current install base) for anything approaching a AAA budget game.

Maybe keep one or two games 'fully' exclusive... and then announce them down the line for other platforms if the worst comes to the worst.

I get what you're saying, Microsoft has money. Xbox, on the other hand, doesn't, and they're not going to want to throw good money after bad. So, one of two things needs to happen; they either suddenly start achieving sales (which likely means some releases on other platforms) or they reduce game budgets. They can't dip into the Windows coffers forever, something needs to change.

[crazyCoconuts]

@Sully - if anyone has money to lose, it's MS. It seems to me that they're going all in here to take over the market - losing money in the short term to f up competitors is fine by them.
I imagine making Minecraft exclusive is part of the go big plan. If they get the right timing. It would be a bold move and might ruin Minecraft but if included with other big things might get people interested in Xbox again and turn the tides.. dunno. But they're not going quietly into the sunset here and they're ready to break some eggs along the way, this Activision deal has made that clear

[SullysCigar]

^ crazyCoconuts, that's kinda the issue here though; they're not losing money in the short term - we're WAY past the short term at this stage. Microsoft have had to bail out xbox and at some point, they'll re-evaluate that position if it doesn't rectify itself, as we know from the past where they considered selling the division.

There comes a point when it's no longer about Microsoft and becomes the concern of the shareholders. microsoft coining it in as a whole won't impress them long-term - if they see a dead arm, that isn't performing to expectation, eventually they'll want to lop it off. Microsoft needs to demonstrate how - and when - exactly they intend to see a return on investments like Zenimax and ABK with a large portion of the market closed off by their own volition.

[Godmars290]

Its dumb for MS to go exclusive with IPs that were multiplatform. Not so with new ones that might move consoles. Not that MS prioritizes their consoles.

And before disagrees or counter replies - They Don't. They prioritize GP, same day on PC, streaming which isn't even a thing yet, but not consoles.

[Lightning77]

"It also highlights why it's dumb to go full exclusive on their IPs. It would make more sense to attempt to draw gamers to their floundering platform with timed exclusivity and mop up the sales on other platforms 6 months to a year later."

Let me get this straight. MS should not keep any of their exclusives, but make them timed exclusive? So South Of Midnight, Clock Work Revolution, Hell Blade 2 and even Fable should should all be on PS!? Explain this to me how is Xbox suppose to have unique IP's and grow their brand then? Sony has all their exclusives and Xbox is not suppose to have any exclusive. The only that's dumb here is your comment... Holy crap just when I thought you can't get any worse.

[CrimsonWing69]

Do the math here, there’s more people with a PlayStation and Switch than an Xbox and even then it’s already established in court that a majority of Xbox owners play just MP focused competitive shooters… apparently.

[__SteakDeck__]

@CrimsonWing69 Exactly. The Xbox fanbase only cares about MP FPS games and Racers. There’s a big reason why Hi-Fi Rush flopped. The Xbox fanbase doesn’t care about games like that. MS would of been better off releasing that on the Switch as well.

[NotoriousWhiz]

Hi-Fi Rush didn't flop lol. It did exactly as it was expected being released day one on a subscription service.

[ChasterMies]

Minecraft player numbers are 2X on PlayStation versus Xbox and 4X on Switch versus Xbox. Another fact brought up in the FTC hearing was that 1/2 of PS5 households also owned a Switch. Point is, a lot of kids play Minecraft and those kids don’t have the power to choose Xbox. Their parents will buy them a Switch. So what choice does Microsoft have except to sell Minecraft where it can?

[jznrpg]

Everything makes more money on PS and Nintendo. 1. install bases are way bigger.
2. we aren’t conditioned to be entitled to “free” games and understand that you get what you pay for.

Microsoft has set themselves up for some major issues with their customers and their business model.

They will do a combination of investing less in big AAA games, flood a lot of their games with MT’s and Battle passes etc like Activision-Blizzard does now (like Halo) and raise the price of Game-Pass to make up for all of the losses they are taking for years now.

They aren’t going to spend 76 billion and give it away for free.

They want to make all that back and then some and Xbox customers are the only ones who will be paying for it

They will dangle a carrot here and there of bigger games but they will get their money back and it will show over time especially if their subs stagnate like they have been.

[crazyCoconuts]

MS wants to grow GamePass. Right now that's either through consoles or PC. Consoles bring in more money. In the foreseeable future, they need to get more Xboxes out there. Exclusives sell consoles. So they're buying more exclusives. If they can't buy them, well there's this Minecraft thing right here....

[Lightning77]

"They will do a combination of investing less in big AAA games, flood a lot of their games with MT’s and Battle passes etc like Activision-Blizzard does now (like Halo) and raise the price of Game-Pass to make up for all of the losses they are taking for years now."

Yet they're releasing South Of Midnight, Clock Work Revolution, Hell Blade 2, Fable and Starfield which are all single player experience are AAA. 2023-2025 games.

And there's go your entire post. Flooding their platform with Battle passes MT's sounds like Sony will be doing just that in the future.

[jznrpg]

I don’t have to buy those games or pay for a sub though. And those games you listed are over a longer time and most don’t have budgets of big AAA games maybe Starfield and Hellblade do maybe. Those are the carrots for you to pay monthly for a sub. How long will it take for those games to come out ? Next 5-7 years I’d bet. You could buy those games for cheaper than over many years of a sub

[Lightning77]

"I don’t have to buy those games or pay for a sub though. "

Are you getting those games for free or something? What's that suppose to mean?

"And those games you listed are over a longer time and most don’t have budgets of big AAA games maybe Starfield and Hellblade do maybe. "

Compulsion and iNXile all expanded their studios to create bigger budget ventures. So they're all AAA. Of course SF and Hell Blade 2 are AAA that's obvious.

"Next 5-7 years I’d bet. You could buy those games for cheaper than over many years of a sub"

What? No I just said 2023-2025 for those games I listed. If you want to buy 70$ or GP it that's up to the person entirely.

There goes your entire argument. Wasn't hard to take down either.

[wiz7191]

I guess , maybe because on Xbox Minecraft is on Gamepass and they give away a lot of for free .. Whereas on other consoles you per much have to pay to even access the game.