Xbox Game Pass Shed 'Millions of Subscribers' Following October 2025 Price Hike

Microsoft says Xbox Game Pass mislaid "millions of subscribers" aft it accrued prices by 50% with a terms hike successful October 2025.

Xbox main strategy serviceman Matthew Ball relayed the harm during a unrecorded taping with The Game Business today. The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest big Geoff Keighley was successful attendance and shared his words connected societal media today. GameSpot besides shared an extended mentation of Microsoft executive's quote.

"We shed millions of subscribers implicit the span of a fewer months," Ball said.

The nonstop fig of subscribers Xbox Game Pass mislaid was not revealed, but "millions" makes it dependable similar the gaming subscription work took a important hit. The nonstop fig of subscribers Microsoft had successful aboriginal 2026 vs. contiguous is unclear, but we bash cognize it had astatine slightest 34 cardinal users subscribed arsenic of February 2024. By July 2025, Xbox Game Pass gross had reportedly reached astir $5 cardinal for the archetypal time.

Game Pass seemed to beryllium a go-to spot for Xbox fans crossed Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, and Xbox connected PC, but that took a deed erstwhile terms hikes were announced precocious past year. Microsoft began October 2025 by confirming a monthly subscription for its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier would emergence from $19.99 to a whopping $29.99. It was a 50% increase, bringing prices to $120 per year.

Although the determination came with the committedness of much large games, specified arsenic Hogwarts Legacy, arsenic good arsenic different benefits, existent subscribers were acold from impressed. Fans rapidly took to societal media en masse to denote they would beryllium revoking their subscriptions. At the time, it was unclear if that question was doing thing to propulsion Microsoft into walking backmost the decision. Now, it decidedly sounds similar the Xbox institution felt that hit.

Later, aft reports suggested that precocious appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma believed Xbox Game Pass had go unaffordable, Microsoft announced it would slash the terms of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 a period to $22.99. It's unclear if this determination had immoderate notable power connected subscribers perchance re-upping their Game Pass subscriptions.

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Michael Cripe is simply a freelance writer with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).