Xbox Game Pass Lost Millions Of Subscribers And It Makes Sense

While Xbox Game Pass Ultimate may have seemed worth getting five years ago, even with its increased pricing tier, audiences are more divided on its value today. Upon its launch in 2017, the deal seemed almost too good to be true for subscribers. The monthly subscription service gave Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S users access to dozens of quality games at no additional cost. This library included some of the biggest titles published by Xbox Game Studios and its subsidiaries on the date of their wide release.

However, it's been nearly a decade since the subscription service's launch, and paid users are leaving it behind in droves. This comes after former Xbox boss Phil Spencer claimed that Game Pass had a paid subscription user base of 34 million subscribers in 2024. This growth was attributed to PC Game Pass users in addition to the established Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Since then, the paid Game Pass subscription numbers have reportedly dropped by millions of users and, looking at the service's strategies since this total was shared, it makes sense.

Without providing specific numbers, Xbox's new chief strategy officer Matthew Ball revealed that Xbox Game Pass has lost millions of subscribers. This hemorrhaging of paid users came after Game Pass raised its subscription price by 50% in October 2025. Such a dramatic increase in pricing with little in worthwhile incentives to show for it was obviously not well-received by gamers at the time. Ball attributed the drastic drop in paid subscriptions to the price hike while speaking at The Game Business Live presentation as part of Summer Game Fest 2026.

As such, it's not clear how many active paid subscribers Game Pass has since Spencer's claims about its total in 2024. But one can infer, based on Ball's comments and the unpopular pricing strategy, that it's no longer at 34 million paid users. Moreover, the struggles that Game Pass has had to retain subscribers shines a light on uncomfortable truths about the service. What's worse is that this setback comes at a time when the PS5 is destroying the Xbox Series X|S by direct comparison.

The ugly truth about Game Pass is that the games provided through the service can lose money as a result of their availability. Putting a title on Game Pass, especially at launch, can potentially cut into the sales of a given release if subscribers can just play it at no additional cost. Though this is certainly not true of every title to feature Game Pass accessibility upon its debut, it has to play a factor, particularly for more expensive video game productions. That Game Pass titles are also sold at a discount to subscribers can potentially cut into sales projections as well.

Seeing how much its major titles were presumably losing in sales because of Game Pass availability informed the decision to raise subscription prices. In a since-deleted blog post explaining the price hike, Xbox detailed that Game Pass would have at least 75 games available to play on its service on day one. The service also gave subscribers unlimited cloud gaming and reward points to use in the Microsoft Store. Judging by the erosion of its subscriber numbers since the price increase, these features were not enough to retain paid users.

In a leaked internal memo, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma noted that Game Pass subscription prices had become unsustainably expensive. Sharma elaborated that the service needs "better value equation" to maintain its appeal to gamers, which "will take time to test and learn." One thing that did not take time was for Xbox to reduce the price of Game Pass subscriptions in April 2026, two months after Sharma succeeded Spencer. Further underscoring that some major Game Pass titles lose money, Xbox noted that future "Call of Duty" games will be available at launch to allow for the price reduction.

A price reduction and the public admittance that the Game Pass price hike was a costly mistake are major steps in the right direction for Xbox. Under Sharma's leadership, the company appears to be committed to remaining in the console market, rather than conceding to Nintendo and Sony. However, this isn't a decision without its own growing pains and divisive strategies, including studio closures and mass layoffs. Xbox has to regain goodwill from its fans to rebuild its Game Pass subscription numbers. Admitting it had a problem is at least a start.