Microsoft: Xbox Live sets new record for global engagement

Xbox Live has set a new engagement record during christmas holidays. According to Microsoft, on Dec. 28, there were more gamers using Xbox Live than on any other day before.

In a blog post, Microsoft calls 2015 “a monumental year for Xbox” and reports high demand for their holiday games discount lineup and bundles with hardware and accessoires.

The company was able to boost sales with a massive holiday promotion which provided big discounts for Xbox Live gamers. “Every title in our exclusive 2015 holiday games line-up – Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza Motorsport 6 and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition – sold over 1 million units, and the number of Xbox One gamers who played Microsoft Studios-published titles more than doubled compared to 2014” says Mike Nichols, Corporate Vice President of Marketing for Xbox.

While Xbox One still remains substantially behind Sony´s PS4, Microsoft seems to have made some progress, convincing gamers to jump on Xbox Live with heavy discounts and bundles.

But in 2015 Microsoft also achieved some progress adding new features to their console. With a big Windows 10 upgrade the Xbox One came closer to the desktop experience. Various apps now connect the Xbox One with other Windows services and devices using the cloud and the Xbox One backward compatibility allows to play around 100 popular Xbox 360 titles on the Xbox One.

The Minecraft acquisition also seems to pay off already as according to Nichols “Minecraft is the number one grossing paid game in the Windows 10 store, a spot it has occupied since it launched in July 2015.”

Microsoft´s Xbox plans for 2016

Nichols promises to go even bigger in 2016, “offering you the greatest games lineup anywhere, no matter where or how gamers play, with the biggest blockbusters from our third-party publishing partners alongside our unrivaled line-up of console exclusives led this spring by Remedy's time-bending new action IP Quantum Break.”

This is a first snapshot of 2016 exclusive Xbox titles that have been announced from Microsoft Studios and first-party partners. Some of the games will be shipped both on Xbox and on Windows 10. In addition to the list below Microsoft is also set to bring many updates to all versions of Minecraft.

Gears of War 4 (Xbox One) – Multiplayer Beta in Spring 2016/Launch in Fall 2016
Quantum Break (Xbox One) – April 5, 2016
Halo Wars 2 (Xbox One & Windows 10) – Fall 2016
Crackdown 3 (Xbox One) – Multiplayer in Summer 2016
Fable Legends Open Beta (Xbox One & Windows 10) – Spring 2016
ReCore (Xbox One & Windows 10) – 2016
Sea of Thieves (Xbox One & Windows 10) – 2016
Gigantic (Xbox One & Windows 10) – 2016
Killer Instinct: Season 3 (Xbox One & Windows 10) – March 2016
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Windows 10) – Spring 2016
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (Xbox One & Windows 10) – Spring 2016
Cobalt (Xbox One, Xbox 360 & Steam) – Feb. 2, 2016