Microsoft Annual Gaming Revenue Passes $10 Billion, Xbox Live Users Rise

Microsoft's gaming business is on the up and up. The company today reported earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended June 30, and times are good for the Xbox business.

For the quarter, Microsoft gaming revenue amounted to $2.28 billion, while full-year revenue came in at $10.35 billion. This represents growth compared to $1.64 billion this quarter last year and $9.05 billion for the full previous fiscal year.

By comparison, GI.biz points out that Sony's gaming business posted full-year revenue of $17.29 billion, while Nintendo's full-year revenue for the last fiscal year was $9.7 billion.

Microsoft also noted that Xbox software and services revenue rose 36 percent compared to last year. This was attributed "mainly" to third-party title strength" instead of Microsoft's own games, however.

The number of Xbox Live active users during the quarter was 57 million, which is up from 53 million during the same period last year. However, the number of active users dropped compared to the last quarter (59 million).

The growth in Microsoft's Xbox division helped the company overall posted year-over-year gains for revenue and operating income. For the quarter, Microsoft overall made $30.1 billion in revenue (up 17 percent) with operating incoming rising 35 percent to $10.4 billion.

At E3 this year, Microsoft announced that it's working on new Xbox consoles to follow the Xbox One. Earlier this week, the Microsoft website was updated to include language that suggested Microsoft may reveal "all-new hardware" at Gamescom in August, but Microsoft has since walked back this comment.