Xbox Live subscribers hits 6 million

The Xbox Live service has topped six million members worldwide, Microsoft has announced – demonstrating that the service is growing even faster than the company itself predicted.

Last year at E3, Microsoft pledged that it would double the subscriber base of Xbox Live from three million users to six million by the end of June 2007 – a milestone it has now reached four months ahead of schedule.

To mark hitting six million users on the service, Microsoft has released an update on key statistics related to Xbox Live – revealing that as well as the 2.3 biillion hours spent playing games on the service since its launch in 2002, Live is also coming into its own as a communication system, with over 2,000,000 voice and text messages sent between users every day.

Halo 2 remains the most popular game on the service to date, followed by Gears of War in second place and Xbox Live Arcade title Hexic HD in third.

Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting is the most-downloaded game on Arcade (based on downloads of the full version), followed by card title UNO in second, Bankshot Billiards 2 in third, and iconic launch title Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved in fourth.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Related Links: Xbox Live

Plus, this weekend Xbox Live silver members are invited online to mix it with the best, as Microsoft has announced another free access period.

“Thanks to Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, this month all Australian and New Zealand Silver members will receive complimentary access to the full Gold gaming experience on Xbox Live during these times listed below.”

Begins: 15:00:00 Friday March 9th

Ends: 21:59:00 Sunday March 11th

Source: Gold Xbox Live access weekend