Xbox Sales Rising, as Minecraft Continues to Perform Well for Microsoft

Microsoft on Tuesday reported earnings for the quarter ended June 30, and Xbox results were strong.

Microsoft sold 1.4 million combined Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles during the three-month period, compared to 1.1 million during the same quarter last year. Overall Xbox platform revenue rose $86 million, or 10 percent. This was led by more consoles sold, but offset partially by lower Xbox One price points relative to where they were last year.

In all, Microsoft sold a combined 12.1 million Xbox consoles during the fiscal year, compared to 11.7 million last year.

Not only were Xbox sales up year-over-year, but Xbox Live revenue rose by $205 million, thanks in part to more Xbox Live users overall and increased revenue per user.

In addition, the Minecraft franchise continued to post strong numbers. Revenue from Mojang's sandbox franchise, which Microsoft acquired last year for $2.5 billion, helped total Microsoft first-party revenue for the quarter increase $63 million, or 62 percent compared to last year.

Although Microsoft's Xbox division posted positive numbers, the company overall did not. For the quarter, Microsoft posted revenue of $22.2 billion, down from from $23.4 billion during the same period last year. The company posted an overall operating loss of $2.1 billion, compared to operating income of $6.5 billion last year. Importantly, however, the operating loss includes an $8.4 billion impairment charge related to the recent Nokia restructuring.

Microsoft will hold an earnings call to discuss these results and answer analyst questions, starting today at 2:30 PDT / 5:30 EDT. Check back later for more.