We finally know how much money Xbox Game Pass actually makes

International regulators around the world are pouring over the finer details of the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard merger, and some of the information coming out of the enquries are fascinating. The most recent – and revealing – byte of data comes via TweakTown, and from Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), which has managed to finally shed some light on how much money Xbox Game Pass actually makes for Microsoft.

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Per data shared with CADE, Xbox Game Pass generated $2.9 billion from consoles in 2021 (not including Xbox Game Pass for PC). This is the first time we've seen data like this, and it sheds a light on how important the service is for Microsoft.

Elsewhere, there's more interesting data coming out of CADE – like the revelation that Xbox gaming generated an eye-watering total revenue of $16.28 billion for Microsoft in the 2021 calendar year.

Looking at the numbers, then, you can see that Xbox Game Pass is responsible for a whopping 18% of Microsoft's total yearly Xbox revenue. And it's no surprise, really; Microsoft has previously revealed that Xbox Game Pass enjoys over 25 million users – and that number is only going to grow as more Series X/S consoles are sold, and Game Pass becomes more widely available.

In Microsoft's eyes, this massive revenue haul may make up for the fact that Xbox One sales were less than half of the PS4's. Let's see if PlayStation's PS Plus relaunch eats into the success of Game Pass in the future.

If you want a nice big list of all the best Xbox Game Pass titles, simply hit the link and have a read.