Microsoft has reported its FY21 Q2 earnings, with a 51% year-over-year increase in gaming revenue, including 40% gains around Xbox content and services. Xbox Game Pass has now hit over 18 million subscribers, while its Xbox Live gaming network now has over 100 million monthly active users.

Microsoft has made bold investments in its Xbox Game Pass offerings, with regular promotions to upgrade its existing Xbox Live Gold subscribers and opportunities to trial the service for $1. Various partnerships have similarly bolstered that value.

The announcement follows recently proposed changes to Xbox Live Gold membership, outlining plans to double pricing for the service, primarily granting access to online multiplayer. It later reverted this following widespread criticism, a move interpreted as an opportunity to migrate users to its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plan.