A PC in a box
The first Xbox contained a modified Intel Pentium III processor and a hard drive, components taken from PCs. That made it easy to port PC games to it.
Xbox Live
In 2002 Microsoft launched Xbox Live with one account, a friends list and voice chat. Today it is standard; back then it was new. The Xbox 360 (2005) finally made online console gaming mainstream.
Game Pass and acquisitions
The Game Pass subscription offers hundreds of games for a monthly fee. Microsoft bought Bethesda (2021) and in 2023 Activision Blizzard for 68.7 billion dollars, including Call of Duty. In 2026 Microsoft raised console prices because memory had become much more expensive.