Microsoft says Xbox Series X, S supply will remain limited due to ‘significant demand’

On the heels of Microsoft’s quarterly earnings report, the has company confirmed that its Xbox Series X and Series S consoles would continue to be in short supply.

Microsoft’s chief financial officer, Amy Hood, explained during a quarterly earnings call that there was still “significant demand” for the consoles. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise — demand for Microsoft’s new Xbox consoles, as well as Sony’s PlayStation 5, has been high since the gaming devices released in November 2020.

Polygon notes that the ongoing pandemic has impacted this by changing how people buy consoles. With shoppers primarily buying consoles online, some have reportedly had to compete with retail bots that buy up stock quickly. Retailers have steadily released stock in small batches as it comes available. Hood indicated that this process would continue for the foreseeable future.

“In gaming, we expect continued strong engagement on the Xbox platform and significant demand for the Xbox Series X and S that will still be constrained by supply,” she said on the call.

Microsoft’s quarter broke several records, marking the first time the company made over $40 billion USD in quarterly sales and setting a record high closing stock price. On the earnings call, Microsoft executives said earnings were up 51 percent in the quarter — 86 percent of that was thanks to hardware sales. Further, CEO Satya Nadella said gaming revenue surpassed $5 billion USD (about $6.4 billion CAD).

Nadella went on to point out that the Xbox Series X and Series S had the most successful launch in the company’s history with “the most devices ever sold in a launch month.”

“Game developers are benefitting, too, as they turn to us to reach more players and scale the games using the power of our cloud. We exceeded $2 billion in revenue from third-party titles this quarter for the first time,” Nadella said.

Via: Polygon