20 Xbox franchises have made $1 billion in lifetime revenue, says Microsoft CEO

According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, 20 of Xbox's first-party franchises have made $1 billion or more in lifetime revenue.

He revealed the news in the company's recent annual report for 2024, which he noted comes after the company acquired Activision Blizzard in October 2023. Along with homegrown franchises like Halo and Gears of War, Nadella name-dropped the series it has bought over the years, such as Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, and Elder Scrolls.

The Activision Blizzard franchises, continued Nadella, also led to "hundreds of millions of players" being added to the Xbox ecosystem. Big titles like Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 were added to Xbox Game Pass and Steam after their initial launches, and the just-released Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was added day one on the service.

During an earnings call for 2023-2024's first quarter last October, Nadella said there were 13 "billion dollar-plus" franchises, indicating some saw a significant revenue boost over the past year. Since then, some series (like Fallout) saw a boost in popularity thanks to factors like a TV show, anniversary, or a specific entry being delisted.

Nadella did not say which Xbox franchise was the top-earner. But we have an idea: as of 2022, the Call of Duty series had made a massive $30 billion in revenue, and it seemed to be Microsoft's primary reason for the acquisition to begin with.

Where in the world is Xbox's first-party?

While the shooter series is the primary focus at the moment, Xbox is also working to get some of its non-Activision franchises back into fighting shape. Recently, Halo Studios (the developer formerly known as 343 Industries) said it would continue making Halo games, this time with Unreal Engine 5 instead of its own proprietary engine.

The Coalition, meanwhile, is developing Gears of War: E-Day, another prequel joining 2013's Gears of War: Judgment and 2020's Gears Tactics. Playground Games, a co-steward of the Forza franchise, is rebooting Lionhead's fantasy RPG series Fable.

Finally, The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics are at work on a reboot of the Perfect Dark series Microsoft acquired alongside Rare in 2002.