Xbox Game Pass Numbers Stagnate as Microsoft Restructures After Missed Growth Targets
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
According to a new Wall Street Journal report covered by Eurogamer, Xbox Game Pass subscriptions have fallen to 30 million, landing well short of Microsoft's ambitious internal targets and contributing to recent restructuring within the Xbox division.
Recent reports from the Wall Street Journal, originally covered by Eurogamer, indicate that Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers have dipped back down to 30 million. This puts the service roughly 4 million members below its publicised 2024 figures and severely misses the aggressive internal targets Microsoft set during the 2023 FTC investigation into the Activision Blizzard acquisition. At the time, leaked documents suggested Microsoft anticipated reaching 77 million subscribers by July 2026, with a loftier goal of 100 million by the end of the decade. Instead, subscriber growth has plateaued, forcing a major strategic rethink inside the Xbox division.
The friction largely stems from last year's restructuring, which saw Game Pass Ultimate prices jump by nearly 50 percent to offset the inclusion of day-one blockbusters like Call of Duty. That gamble backfired, resulting in widespread subscriber churn as players pushed back against the steep cost increase. In response, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma rolled back those changes earlier this year, lowering subscription prices and shifting Call of Duty releases to arrive one year after their initial launch rather than on day one. Unfortunately, those course corrections have not been enough to reverse the damage immediately.
The subscription model troubles are also tied to wider organizational pain, with Sharma citing the slow pace of Game Pass growth in internal memos announcing recent job cuts across the Xbox division. While services like PlayStation Plus have leaned into a traditional back catalogue and classic titles approach rather than day-one tentpoles, Microsoft built its entire modern ecosystem around the Netflix-style subscription promise. As the industry recalibrates around the realities of digital economies and player spending habits, the platform holder now faces the challenge of rebuilding community trust and finding a sustainable path forward for its flagship service.
Tags: Xbox, Game Pass, Industry News, Microsoft, Subscription Services
Original article: Eurogamer