1) Microsoft Corporate
$21 billion
Microsoft’s astronomical $21 billion net income catapults it to the top of this list, though the majority percentage obviously does not come from its gaming division alone. The company is a huge multifaceted business, leveraging its foothold in the PC software market to generate its most notable profits. Windows 10 and Microsoft Office packages account for a considerable proportion, as does Azure, Microsoft’s commercial cloud service, which exceeded $18 billion in revenue alone in 2017.
However, gaming still represents an important avenue of business, too. Despite the fact that Microsoft neglects to stipulate exact figures on the Xbox Division’s performance, we know that gaming generated over $3 billion of revenue in a single quarter earlier this year. In its letter to shareholders, Microsoft makes special mention of gaming revenue increasing by $44 million dollars, which it attributes to higher spending on Xbox software and services. Xbox Live’s user base continues to grow, too, with a 13% increase over last year. On a less positive note, though, the publisher also admits a decline in the volume of consoles sold, explaining the 29% decrease in revenue (and lower console prices) in comparison to 2016.
Looking forward, Microsoft’s gaming division should be course for a stronger fiscal 2018 as it plans to launch its Xbox One X console.
