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Xbox reportedly used Minecraft profits to fund its other gaming projects

All while Xbox lost $300 million in 2024 alone by bringing Call of Duty to Game Pass.
Ben Lyons Senior Editor 8 July 2026

There have been a lot of reports and rumours circulating as of late about how Xbox has been rather mismanaged over the years, leading to the massive "reset" and round of layoffs. While we know some studios are re-gaining their independence and others are being sold off, we also know that some iconic developers are being gutted by these layoffs, while others are at risk but may yet be sold back to its founder.

Now a report from Bloomberg has arrived and provided an in-depth look at the struggles of Xbox as of recent, with a few very striking claims being made within the wider article. For one, it's directly stated that the profits Microsoft reaped from Minecraft and Mojang was being directly used to "fund the rest of the gaming portfolio," something new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma clearly wasn't too happy about either considering Mojang will now directly report to her alongside King, the mobile developer who alongside Mojang has the "most active players" in the Xbox family.

The report also notes the decision to add Call of Duty to Game Pass ended up seeing Xbox lose around $300 million in 2024 from just losing sales of the series on Xbox consoles and PC, all while PlayStation sales for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 totalled 82% of the total game sales for the title.

Needless to say, mismanaged is perhaps a bit of an understatement when it came to Xbox of the past few years...

Senior Editor Ben was a Senior Editor at Gamereactor UK. When he wasn’t writing, editing or filming for Gamereactor, he could usually be found playing an FPS or getting lost in a sprawling RPG.
Full profile Gamereactor author since October 2020 · 18,577 published articles
Game facts Minecraft
Genre Simulation, Adventure
Developer Mojang, 4J Studios
Publisher Mojang
Release date 17 November 2011
Platforms
PC iOS Android Xbox 360 XBLA Xbox One PS4 PS3 PS Vita Wii U Nintendo Switch Nintendo 3DS Nintendo Switch 2
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