The online service is still quite popular and its number of users is increasing

Apr 19, 2013 07:59 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has confirmed that the number of Xbox Live users worldwide is over 46 million, an 18% increase over last year's stats.

The Xbox 360 is still going very strong in terms of sales, despite the fact that many hardcore gamers are looking forward to next-generation consoles, including the oft-rumored Xbox 720.

As a result, plenty of new owners are signing up for the Xbox Live online service in order to get downloadable games and take advantage of other features.

Microsoft has just revealed during a new earnings release, via CVG, that it now has over 46 million members worldwide, an 18 percent increase over last year.

The company also teased that it's going to show off quite a lot of new things for Xbox Live users at E3 2013, but declined to say anything else about a next-generation console.