Introduction

Xbox statistics: Over the last two decades, the Xbox brand has become a significant player in the gaming industry worldwide. In Microsoft, Xbox made the first entry into the world of console electronic gaming, impacting many people's lives worldwide. To date, Microsoft has launched four consoles of video games such as Xbox 60, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

This Xbox article includes different effective statistics and current trends from several aspects; those will guide you to understand the topic better if you consider investing in the market by the end of 2024.

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 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.

In 2023, the unit sales of Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S video game consoles amounted to nearly 7.5 million units, decreasing considerably from just above the 8.65 million units sold in the previous year. Xbox X/S’s predecessor, the Xbox One, was put to market in 2013 and sold roughly 58 million units in total until the end of its lifespan in 2020. Xbox Designed by Microsoft, Xbox is a series of video game consoles including the original Xbox, Xbox 360 and the newest Xbox One. Respectively belonging to the sixth, seventh, and eighth generations of video game consoles, the Xbox consoles established Microsoft’s standing in the video game industry, with Sony and Nintendo as the other two major competitors. The latest Xbox models Series X and S were released in November 2020, two days before the release of PlayStation 5. They became the first Xbox consoles to offer 4K gaming at up to 120 frames per second and introduced a new wireless controller to the lineup. Console Gaming Since the release of the world’s first gaming console in 1972, the Magnovox Odyssey, the console gaming industry has exploded in popularity and become a massive global industry. Modern consoles regularly sell tens of millions of units throughout their lifespan, as players from around the world compete in everything from virtual sports to medieval fantasies. In 2023, Sony’s Playstation 5, Nintendo’s Switch and the Xbox Series X/S were the highest-selling game consoles worldwide, each selling millions of units annually.

In the fiscal quarter ending June 2024, Microsoft reported over 500 million monthly active gaming users across all platforms and devices. This is up from 200 million reported users at the end of 2023. The user figures are strongly impacted by the closing of Microsoft's acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard.

First launched in June 2017 on the Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft's cross-platform gaming subscription service, which allows users to play online multiplayer, access a rotating library of games, and other services, depending on the subscription tier. Xbox Game Pass reported 34 million subscribers in February 2024. The overall reach of the Microsoft Xbox Network was an estimated 120 million monthly active users.

A constantly evolving product With the multiplayer subscription service Xbox Live Gold already being a part of the online gaming experience on the Xbox One console, Microsoft introduced a separate on-demand subscription service for gaming content, known as Xbox Game Pass, in the second half of the console’s lifecycle. In April 2019, Microsoft also introduced Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which bundles Game Pass with an Xbox Live Gold subscription. This higher-priced tier also includes EA Play, a subscription service for video games published by Electronic Arts. EA Play has been live in several iterations, known as Origin Access on PC and EA Access on consoles. In November 2020, EA Play was integrated into the XBox Game Pass Ultimate and instantly doubled its user reach.

Expanding the content library via strategic acquisitions At launch, the Xbox One platform, and subsequently the Xbox Game Pass, have frequently been criticized for the lack of platform-exclusive releases. Compared to the PlayStation or Nintendo Switch, there were fewer major first- or third-party exclusives, and several flagship Microsoft exclusives also underperformed or were delayed or cancelled. To remedy this, Microsoft began to realign its first party studios first into unified Microsoft Studios (2017) and then rebranded this collection of gaming studios into Xbox Game Studios (2019). Since 2019, Microsoft has made several key acquisitions (Double Fine, InXile Entertainment, Ninja Theory, Obsidian Entertainment, Playground Games) before making a big splash with their 7.5 billion U.S. dollar purchase of holding company ZeniMax Media in March 2021. ZeniMax’s portfolio of gaming studios includes Bethesda Game Studios (maker of Fallout, The Elder Scolls, and the upcoming Starfield), id Software (developer of Doom, Quake, and the Rage series), Arkane Studios, MachineGames, and Tango Gameworks. It was Microsoft’s most high-profile gaming acquisition until the announcement of its intended purchase of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard for an eye-watering 69 billion U.S. dollars in January 2022. As of June 2023, the blockbuster deal is still up for regulatory approval due to concerns about industry consolidation and its impact on consumer choice.

How high is the brand awareness of Xbox Game Pass in the United States?When it comes to video game subscription users, brand awareness of Xbox Game Pass is at 83 percent in the United States. The survey was conducted using the concept of aided brand recognition, showing respondents both the brand's logo and the written brand name.How popular is Xbox Game Pass in the United States?In total, 39 percent of U.S. video game subscription users say they like Xbox Game Pass. However, in actuality, among the 83 percent of U.S. respondents who know Xbox Game Pass, 47 percent of people like the brand.What is the usage share of Xbox Game Pass in the United States?All in all, 33 percent of video game subscription users in the United States use Xbox Game Pass. That means, of the 83 percent who know the brand, 40 percent use them.How loyal are the customers of Xbox Game Pass?Around 27 percent of video game subscription users in the United States say they are likely to use Xbox Game Pass again. Set in relation to the 33 percent usage share of the brand, this means that 82 percent of their customers show loyalty to the brand.What's the buzz around Xbox Game Pass in the United States?In February 2024, about 30 percent of U.S. video game subscription users had heard about Xbox Game Pass in the media, on social media, or in advertising over the past three months. Of the 83 percent who know the brand, that's 36 percent, meaning at the time of the survey there's some buzz around Xbox Game Pass in the United States.If you want to compare brands, do deep-dives by survey items of your choice, filter by total online population or users of a certain brand, or drill down on your very own hand-tailored target groups, our Consumer Insights Brand KPI survey has you covered.

The global connected game console market is set to experience USD 25.5 billion in 2025. The industry is poised to register 15.1% CAGR from 2025 to 2035 and reach USD 105.6 billion by 2035.

Contract & Deal Analysis

Country-wise Analysis

Competitive Outlook

In 2025, the estimated average revenue per user across all tiers on the Xbox Game Pass will amount to 151.07 U.S. dollars, a 15 percent increase on 2024. Microsoft has increased the prices for its Game Pass gaming subscription service in September, ahead of the new Call of Duty video game release at the end of October.

As of August 2024, lifetime unit sales of Xbox One consoles in North America reached nearly 33 million, while in Europe, lifetime unit sales surpassed 12.8 million. In total, nearly 58 million Xbox One units have been sold worldwide as of November 2024. Xbox console history Xbox is a video game brand created by Microsoft, the U.S. technology corporation which produces computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and a range of other services. The Xbox video game console is the most widely known product under the Xbox umbrella, with the first Xbox console released in North America in November 2001, and worldwide the following year. Since then, Microsoft has released a further four video game consoles – Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. Console competitors Of the all-time sales of video game consoles, Microsoft registers just one device, the Xbox 360, in the top ten. Looking more closely toward the top of the list, Sony registers two of its products in the top five, with Nintendo’s DS, Game Boy and Switch devices making up the rest. In terms of lifetime sales, Sony has sold nearly twice as many of its PlayStation 4 consoles compared to the Xbox One. This trend is expected to continue with the latest generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

As of September 2023, the global installed base of the Sony PlayStation 5 is 46.6 million units, whilst the Microsoft Xbox Series S and Series X has an installed base of 21 million units. The next generation Sony game console is forecast to have the highest installed base globally, rising to 67.3 million units by 2024.

Since its release in November 2020, the Xbox Series X and Series S has sold well over 12 million units worldwide. In 2024 year-to-date, the Xbox X/S sold approximately 2.4 million units. The modern-day console wars While the term “console wars” was originally coined to describe the rivalry between Sega and Nintendo in the video game market during the 1980s and 1990s, the modern usage refers to the battle for supremacy between the PlayStation and Xbox brands. The most recent battle between these console giants has been fought out between their eight-generation consoles, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. However, while the PlayStation 4 has sold over 45 million units in Europe alone, Microsoft’s console is yet to reach 60 million unit sales worldwide. This duel has also turned into a three-way battle thanks to the enormous success of Nintendo’s hybrid video game console, the Nintendo Switch. Despite being released over three years later than its rivals, the console has already racked up over 140 million unit sales worldwide, approximately a quarter of which were in North America. The future of console gaming This fight for supremacy shows no signs of slowing down, with the next battle of the console wars upon the horizon. Sony continues to have the upper hand, as sales of its PlayStation 5 reached 20 million in 2023. In comparison, estimates have Microsoft shipping 3.1 million units of its Xbox Series X in 2023.

The global Game Subscription Service market is experiencing robust growth, driven by increasing internet penetration, the rising popularity of gaming across all demographics, and the convenience offered by subscription models. The market is projected to reach a value of $15 billion in 2025, exhibiting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18% from 2019 to 2033. This substantial growth is fueled by several key factors, including the expanding library of games offered by subscription services, the introduction of cloud gaming platforms offering seamless access across devices, and the emergence of family-friendly subscription options catering to a broader audience. The increasing affordability and accessibility of high-speed internet are also significant contributors to this market expansion. Competition among established players like Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and emerging platforms such as Apple Arcade and GeForce Now further fuels innovation and drives down prices, benefiting consumers. Segmentation analysis reveals that PC games and mobile games currently dominate the market share, driven by the widespread accessibility of these platforms. However, console gaming subscriptions are experiencing rapid growth, fueled by the enhanced gaming experience and exclusive titles offered. The adult segment currently holds a larger share of the market; however, the child segment is growing rapidly due to the increasing popularity of family-friendly game bundles and parental controls incorporated in many services. Geographic analysis reveals North America and Europe as the leading regions in terms of market share, with Asia Pacific showing significant growth potential given the expanding gaming community and improving internet infrastructure. The market faces challenges, including the potential for churn and the need to constantly refresh game catalogs to retain subscribers. However, the continuous innovation in gaming technology and the increasing demand for accessible and affordable gaming experiences are poised to propel this market to even greater heights in the coming years.

Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft Viva, and Skype for Business; Skype, Outlook.com, OneDrive, and LinkedIn; and Dynamics 365, a set of cloud-based and on-premises business solutions for organizations and enterprise divisions. The Intelligent Cloud segment licenses SQL, Windows Servers, Visual Studio, System Center, and related Client Access Licenses; GitHub that provides a collaboration platform and code hosting service for developers; Nuance provides healthcare and enterprise AI solutions; and Azure, a cloud platform. It also offers enterprise support, Microsoft consulting, and nuance professional services to assist customers in developing, deploying, and managing Microsoft server and desktop solutions; and training and certification on Microsoft products. The More Personal Computing segment provides Windows original equipment manufacturer (OEM) licensing and other non-volume licensing of the Windows operating system; Windows Commercial, such as volume licensing of the Windows operating system, Windows cloud services, and other Windows commercial offerings; patent licensing; and Windows Internet of Things. It also offers Surface, PC accessories, PCs, tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, and other devices; Gaming, including Xbox hardware, and Xbox content and services; video games and third-party video game royalties; and Search, including Bing and Microsoft advertising. The company sells its products through OEMs, distributors, and resellers; and directly through digital marketplaces, online stores, and retail stores. Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.

Global 3D Gaming Console Market size was valued at USD 22.9 billion in 2021 and is poised to grow from USD 24.1 billion in 2022 to USD 33.8 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5% in the forecast period (2023-2030).

In January 2025, first-person shooter (FPS) favorite Call of Duty was the second-most popular game on the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X consoles worldwide, ranking second based on monthly active users. Battle royale game Fortnite ranked first.

The global accessible games platform market is experiencing significant growth, driven by increasing demand for inclusive gaming experiences and technological advancements. While precise market sizing data was not provided, considering the involvement of major players like Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and Apple, along with the rising awareness of accessibility needs within the gaming community, a conservative estimate for the 2025 market size would be around $2 billion. This figure is further supported by the projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) — let's assume a robust 15% CAGR for the forecast period (2025-2033) reflecting technological improvements and expanding user base. This suggests a substantial expansion, reaching potentially $7 billion by 2033. Key growth drivers include the rising adoption of assistive technologies, growing awareness among game developers of accessibility needs, and the increasing accessibility features integrated directly into popular gaming platforms and controllers. The market is segmented by platform type (online and offline) and target user (children and adults), with online platforms currently dominating due to convenience and reach. Regional variations exist, with North America and Europe likely holding the largest market shares initially, but Asia-Pacific exhibiting rapid growth potential due to its large and expanding gaming population. Market restraints primarily involve the higher costs associated with developing and implementing accessible features and a potential lack of awareness among some game developers about the specific needs and preferences of players with disabilities. However, initiatives by leading game publishers and regulatory bodies promoting inclusivity are counteracting these limitations. Future trends suggest an increased focus on personalized accessibility options, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for enhanced gameplay support, and the development of more immersive virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences designed with accessibility in mind. The competitive landscape is characterized by both established industry giants and emerging specialized accessibility solution providers, fostering innovation and expanding the range of accessible gaming options.

As of April 2022, Microsoft's Xbox gaming subscription services had nearly 34 million subscriptions through gaming consoles. The Xbox Game Pass was by far the most popular, having accumulated 21.9 million subscribers on Xbox consoles.

In 2020, gaming software revenue for Microsoft's Xbox console series amounted to 4.79 billion U.S. dollars. However, consumer spending on Xbox gaming software is projected to jump to 6.35 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 as the fourth generation of Xbox consoles, the Xbox Series X and Series S, were released in November 2020, giving gamers more incentive to spend money on games for their new system.

According to Cognitive Market Research, the global shooting games market size is USD 100621.2 million in 2024 and will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.00% from 2024 to 2031.

North America held the major market of around 40% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 40248.48 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% from 2024 to 2031.
Europe accounted for a share of over 30% of the global market size of USD 30186.36 million.
Asia Pacific held the market of around 23% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 23142.88 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4% from 2024 to 2031.
Latin America market of around 5% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 5031.06 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4% from 2024 to 2031.
Middle East and Africa held the major market of around 2% of the global revenue with a market size of USD 2012.42 million in 2024 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% from 2024 to 2031.
The offline held the highest growth rate in shooting games market in 2024.

Market Dynamics of Shooting Games Market

Key Drivers of Shooting Games Market

Growing eSports and Competitive Gaming to Increase the Sales

Growing eSports and competitive gaming represent a significant driver in the shooting games market, profoundly impacting sales. The rise of eSports tournaments, such as the Over watch League and Call of Duty League, attracts massive audiences worldwide. These events showcase professional gamers competing at the highest levels, elevating the status of shooting games as a spectator sport. As eSports gain mainstream recognition, more players are inspired to hone their skills and engage with these titles, leading to increased sales. Furthermore, developers often support eSports scenes by releasing updates, organizing tournaments, and offering in-game rewards, fostering a loyal player base. The competitive nature of eSports encourages players to invest in premium gaming equipment and titles, further stimulating sales growth. Overall, the synergistic relationship between eSports and shooting games continues to drive market expansion and innovation.

Accessibility across Various Platforms to Expand the Market Reach

Accessibility across various platforms plays a pivotal role in expanding the reach of the shooting games market. With games available on platforms such as PC, consoles like PlayStation and Xbox, as well as mobile devices, developers tap into diverse audiences with differing preferences and budgets. This broad accessibility ensures that individuals from various demographics and regions can engage with shooting games, driving market growth. Furthermore, the proliferation of digital distribution channels like Steam, Epic Games Store, and console marketplaces makes it easier for players to access and purchase titles, eliminating physical barriers. Cross-platform compatibility and cloud gaming services further democratize access, allowing players to enjoy their favourite shooting games seamlessly across different devices. As accessibility increases, the potential customer base expands, fuelling the demand for shooting games and fostering a vibrant gaming ecosystem.

Technological Advancement in Gaming Fuels the Market Growth

Restraint Factors of Shooting Games Market

Piracy and Copyright Infringement to Limit the Sales

Piracy and copyright infringement pose significant challenges to the shooting games market, potentially limiting sales and revenue streams. Illegally distributed copies of games circumvent the need for legitimate purchases, resulting in lost sales for developers and publishers. Moreover, widespread piracy undermines the incentives for investment in game development and innovation, ultimately stifling the growth of the industry. Copyright infringement not only affects the financial viability of individual titles but also erodes trust within the gaming community and discourages future investments. Developers often implement anti-piracy measures, but determined pirates find workarounds, perpetuating the problem. Addressing piracy requires a multi-faceted approach, including robust legal frameworks, enforcement measures, and initiatives to educate consumers about the importance of supporting legitimate game purchases.

Impact of Covid-19 on ...

As of April 2022, Microsoft's Xbox network (formerly known as Xbox Live) had approximately 112 million quarterly active users, 51.3 million of which were on console. The number of monetized users on the service (via Game Pass or Gold subscription, for example) amounted to 39.7 million, or 78 percent.