Updated
Updated · Kotaku · Jun 8
Xbox Game Pass Lost Millions of Subscribers After 50% Price Hike
Updated
Updated · Kotaku · Jun 8

Xbox Game Pass Lost Millions of Subscribers After 50% Price Hike

3 articles · Updated · Kotaku · Jun 8

Summary

  • Matthew Ball, Xbox’s chief strategy officer, said at Summer Game Fest that Game Pass shed “millions of subscribers” after a 50% price increase in fall 2025.
  • The drop followed October’s overhaul, which lifted the Ultimate plan by 50% and reworked cheaper tiers just over a year after another 2024 price rise.
  • The scale of the decline is unclear, but Game Pass was officially at 34 million subscribers in February 2024 and was later thought to have topped 35 million by mid-2025.
  • Asha Sharma’s April price cut — though not back to 2025 levels — and Xbox’s decision to stop putting future Call of Duty launches into the service now look like responses to that subscriber erosion.

Insights

Can Game Pass reclaim its 'best deal in gaming' title after its significant price hikes and content shifts?
Does Xbox's Call of Duty reversal signal the end of the 'Netflix for Games' model for blockbuster titles?