Microsoft CEO's Annual Bonuses Are No Longer Tied to Game Pass Growth
The growth of the Game Pass audience has ceased to affect the amount of annual bonuses that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella receives. This happened against the background of weak Game Pass performance: for two years in a row, subscription growth did not meet the corporation's expectations.
To understand the picture:
Fiscal year 2020 (ended June 30, 2020) was an extremely successful year for Game Pass. Nadella had a goal to increase the number of Game Pass subscribers by 71% over the year. The growth was 85.7%.
In 2021, the target was lower — 47.8%, but it was not achieved. The Game Pass audience grew by only 37.5%.
In 2022, the Game Pass audience was expected to grow by 72.8%, but it increased by only 28%.
The only game—related indicator that is now taken into account when calculating Nadella's bonuses is the results of the entire Microsoft gaming division. However, in 2023 they also turned out to be lower than expected: growth was 0.7% instead of 4.4%.
The total amount of Nadella's annual bonuses for 2023 is $48.5 million. A year earlier, the figure was higher — $54.9 million.
