Xbox Game Pass has 30 million subscribers after price cut, well short of 77 mil goal

CEO Asha Sharma admitted that Xbox Game Pass price increases lessened the service’s appeal. While Microsoft hasn’t released official numbers since 2024, The Wall Street Journal (paywalled) reported an updated figure. According to a “person familiar with the matter”, the subscriber count stands at around 30 million, far below the company’s 77 million projection by 2026.

What went wrong?

During Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, its lofty goals for the subscription option leaked. Unfortunately, dwindling console sales followed by rate hikes contributed to slower-than-expected growth.

After launching in 2017, Microsoft announced in 2022 that Xbox Game Pass had attracted 25 million gamers. By 2024, that number had expanded to 34 million, once it absorbed former Xbox Live Gold members. Since then, observers have speculated that the lack of updates was due to a decline in new users.

It’s unclear how up to date the statistics cited by The Wall Street Journal are. Still, there is now evidence confirming the extent of the damage caused by earlier price increases. The subscriber count has fallen to 30 million, down nearly 12% since 2024.

The future of Game Pass

In a memo addressing a massive round of layoffs, Sharma explained that an underperforming Game Pass failed to boost lackluster profits. Since taking over, the CEO has made decisions to offer gamers better value. One of those moves was to reduce the Xbox Game Pass price on Ultimate and PC tiers.

Despite the struggles leading up to the Project Helix release date, Microsoft plans to continue to invest in the subscription service. Recently, a report suggested that it had paused signing new deals with third parties. Fans should still see new Xbox Game Pass games debut regularly, though there are exceptions. Call of Duty titles will no longer appear as day-one additions.

At this point, 77 million may be an unrealistic benchmark. Some analysts believe that, with many consumers preferring to buy games outright, Game Pass has already reached its potential.