Xbox Live grows to 59 million active users

Today, Microsoft released its second quarter earnings and blew away expectations. The company announced $28.9 billion in revenue and $7.5 billion in non-GAAP net income. However, the gaming division's results were some of the most surprising, with revenue growing 8 percent to $3.9 billion.

Xbox Live usage also grew, with Xbox Live's monthly active users increasing by 7 percent to 59 million. This is a significant jump and could come down to a number of factors, including the launch of the Xbox One X and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG). The game already has over 4 million players on Xbox One, and that number is expected to rise in the coming months.

It's safe to categorize PUBG as an absolute sensation at this point, and the game's success continues even on Xbox One. The game has been breaking records ever since it came out and even managed to pass a million players in the first 48 hours on the console. We also know that PUBG sold over 20 million copies on PC.

The Xbox One X launched on November 7, 2017, and is the most powerful console ever made. The device features 6 teraflops of processing power and 12 GB of GDDR5 memory, and a faster hard drive. All of that combines to make a formidable machine that can tackle 4K gaming. That appears to have been enough to give gaming revenues a boost due to increased hardware sales, according to Microsoft.

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Asher Madan

Asher Madan handles gaming news for Windows Central. Before joining Windows Central in 2017, Asher worked for a number of different gaming outlets. He has a background in medical science and is passionate about all forms of entertainment, cooking, and antiquing.