At the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase,

Microsoft


MSFT


announced

an impressive games line up for its Xbox consoles. The video game giant showcased 30 new titles including

Forza Horizon 5

and

Battlefield 2042

.

Out of these 30 titles, 27 will be available with Xbox Game Pass service. Moreover, most of the upcoming gaming titles from Xbox Games Studios and Bethesda Softworks will be available for Game Pass subscribers on the day of release itself, including the much-awaited and highly-delayed

Halo Infinite

as well as P

sychonauts 2, Party Animals, Atomic Heart

and

The Ascent

added Microsoft.

However,

Starfield

and

Redfall

will exclusively be available on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X consoles and PCs.

By expanding the roster of games available on Xbox Game Pass with Bethesda addition, Microsoft is looking to boost its competitive stance against the likes of Nintendo and

Sony


SNE

.

Microsoft completed the acquisition Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media in all cash deal worth $7.5 billion in March this year. The takeover boosted the number of in-house development studios to 23 from 15 for Microsoft.

Bethesda Softworks is the owner of popular video game titles like

Quake, The Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Wolfenstei

n and

Fallout

.

Microsoft Firing on All Cylinders in the Video Game Space

Microsoft is undertaking enormous efforts to bolster its position in the video games market, which has seen massive spurt owing to COVID-19 crisis and resultant shelter-in-place restrictions.

According to Mordor Intelligence report,

the worldwide gaming market is expected to reach $314.4 billion by the end of 2026 at a CAGR of 9.64% between 2021 and 2026.

Further, the rapid adoption of cloud gaming is propelling for the overall video gaming market.

The cloud gaming market is expected to reach $7.24 billion by 2027, from an estimated value of $0.68 billion in 2021 at a CAGR of 48.2% between 2021 and 2027,

according to Grand View Research data.

Increasing proliferation of smartphones, adoption of latest technologies like augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) and accelerated 5G deployment will further drive the cloud gaming market. Popularity of e-sports will also act as a catalyst.

Markedly, the company is adding more perks and services to its Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate subscription services to grab a larger share of the lucrative video games market. Subscription services ensure a stable and recurring revenue stream. The company’s Game Pass subscription service launched in 2017 has been a massive success with more than 18 million users.

The company

recently

announced that it is collaborating with worldwide television manufacturers to create an Xbox app that will enable gamers to play on their TV sets (with internet connection) with the help of only an Xbox controller.

Also, Microsoft stated that it was working on developing various streaming devices for its cloud gaming service that will enable players to access games on variety of devices like TV or monitor, thereby eliminating the need for a console.

Microsoft will roll out its cloud gaming service through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in Brazil, Australia, Mexico and Japan sometime later this year.

Nonetheless, Microsoft needs to watch out for increasing competition in the cloud gaming space from the likes of like

Alphabet


GOOGL

,

Amazon


AMZN

and Facebook.

At present, Microsoft carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

You can see


the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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