Xbox Live took in $1.2 billion in 2009 - Report

In February, independent research firm FADE estimated that Microsoft's Xbox Live service brought in $103 million in revenues for 2009. That estimate might have been a bit low, as a Bloomberg report today pegged the actual number as over $1.2 billion.

The news agency came about its figure by combining two pieces of information from Microsoft. First, the company said that roughly half of the 25 million Xbox Live user base paid an annual fee for service. If 12.5 million people spent the standard $50 for the Xbox Live Gold annual subscription, that would put subscription revenues alone at $625 million (Bloomberg reasoned "about $600 million"). Additionally, Dennis Durkin, COO of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business, told the news agency that in 2009, sales of Xbox Live content like games and movies topped subscription revenue for the first time, suggesting at least another $600 million-$625 million in revenue.

If that figure is accurate, it would represent a spike of roughly 60 percent in lifetime Xbox Live product sales in a single year. In January of 2009, Microsoft put Xbox Live's product revenues since the launch of the Xbox 360 at "more than $1 billion."

"The old playbook of 'launch and leave' is a relic of the past," Durkin told the news service. "Today with Xbox Live, it's now about 'launch, sustain, retain' by continually adding new content that enhances the original experience."

One such example of the approach is Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 downloadable content. In March, the game's Stimulus Package map pack debuted exclusively on Xbox Live and sold 2.5 million copies at $15 a pop in the first week. (The Stimulus Package was released on the PC and PlayStation 3 in May.)