Game Pass Falls to 30 Million as Price Hikes and Black Ops 7 Churn Bite
Updated
Updated · Kotaku · Jul 6
Game Pass Falls to 30 Million as Price Hikes and Black Ops 7 Churn Bite
3 articles · Updated · Kotaku · Jul 6
Summary
30 million monthly paying subscribers leaves Game Pass down 4 million from 2024, according to the Wall Street Journal, marking a reversal after Microsoft had stopped disclosing regular figures.
A $30-a-month Game Pass Ultimate price hike ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, combined with the game's poor reception, drove churn that Xbox strategy chief Matthew Ball said cost the service millions of users.
Microsoft had projected roughly 77 million subscribers for 2026 in documents aired during the Activision case, but Sarah Bond last put the service at 34 million in 2024 and growth has since turned negative.
Asha Sharma has already cut Game Pass pricing and removed new Call of Duty titles from day-one release on the service, after Bloomberg reported Black Ops 6's 2024 launch there cost about $300 million in lost revenue.