Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service grows to 34 million subscribers

The Verge writes: "The 34 million figure is reflective of the fact Xbox Series S / X consoles haven’t been selling as well as PS5 hardware, and that consumers aren’t flocking to Game Pass for Xbox Cloud Gaming on mobile devices. Microsoft also started converting Xbox Live Gold subscribers over to Xbox Game Pass Core last year, and Microsoft has confirmed the 34 million includes those subscribers, too."

[Vengeance1138]

"Grows" thats a VERY generous word.

[Jin_Sakai]

These numbers include Core so Game Pass didn’t really grow. If anything it’s slowed considerably.

[Jin_Sakai]

“The 34 million figure is reflective of the fact Xbox Series S / X consoles haven’t been selling as well as PS5 hardware, and that consumers aren’t flocking to Game Pass for Xbox Cloud Gaming on mobile devices. Microsoft also started converting Xbox Live Gold subscribers over to Xbox Game Pass Core last year, and Microsoft has confirmed the 34 million includes those subscribers, too.“

https://www.theverge.com/20...

[itsmebryan]

@Jin
But, it didn't slow by 26% like Playstation's operating income. I think Microsoft will be OK.
Thanks for concerns.
Cheers

[Chevalier]

It actually dropped if you consider in 2022 they had 25 million Gamepass and 12 million gold subscribers totalling 37 million. Now they folded Gold into Gamepass and they're down to 34 million for a net loss of 3 million.

[Einhander1972]

Jin_Sakai

This whole thing was just a big tough guy posturing session acting relevant when in reality is PS5 and the near end of life Switch both outsold xbox 4+ to one last year. They act like they are giving something out but what they need is revenue from and exposure on those platforms.

Multiple reliable sources (2k several industry tracking companies) have revealed that at the end of 2023 SX had only sold 23m and that 2023 was actually down far more than vgchartz would have you believe.

And as you point out 34 million is way down for the count of gold subscribers before they converted them to game pass so even that seems down dramatically.

"Xbox Live Reaches Record With 48 Million Active Subscribers - Forbes"

[shinoff2183]

It's not ms you need concern for, it's the Xbox division that's the issue. Ms won float this forever. Those funds to buy up those numerous publishers and studios weren't from the Xbox division. If that sh don't grow ms won't be happy.

[darthv72]

it could grow quicker if they are allowed to release more ABK games on it... but the conditions of the deal are limited. They have a bunch of content that would be good for sparking subs but they can't do anything with it... for now anyway.

[Bathyj]

I doubt the conditions of the deal are the only factors. Selling ABK games makes money. That's why they bought them. Of course they need to wait a while before that deal breaks even but it would take even longer if they just gave all them games away.

[shinoff2183]

What conditions. Weren't acti games going on gamepass in March or some sh

[DarXyde]

There are two types of people who really care about this:

1. Shareholders/investors
2. Fanboys

For both groups, I'm glad they're being misled about growth of the service. If this makes you happy as you acknowledge the reality that Microsoft (and likely Sony and Nintendo in due course) embraces the growth of AI to replace labour, you're kind of garbage.

I hope their games sell terribly on all other platforms.

[ChasterMies]

Some game enthusiasts like to peak behind the curtain, like sports fans who want to know the details of a 5 year contract or movie fans who want to know the box office.

[DarXyde]

DeusFever,

Fully understand the interest, but do you *really care*? As in you're fully invested in this? Thrilled by MS making more money? That's a bit much.

I get caring to the extent that it gives you comfort to know a service or platform you enjoy is assured good support, but I don't really get people who *really care* about it. I like PlayStation, but I don't lose any sleep when PS5 misses its she's target.

[Gamingsince1981]

It's a funny way to spell "stagnates" lol

[XiNatsuDragnel]

"Grows" very cautious word

[Eonjay]

It actually literally stopped. I don't know how they are supposed to reach those numbers they gave the FTC for GP to be profitable.

[Plague-Doctor27]

They straight up can't reach that goal. They need to triple subs in the next 3 years and they havent even grown at all in the last 2. Subscription growth for PS+ has stalled too. Global recession at play here. It's why both MS and Sony are exploring new strategies

[ocelot07]

According to Tom who interviewed Phill. This number also includes Gamepass Core.

[EasilyTheBest]

So 34 Million subscribers with the Majority paying for Ultimate at £12.99. That's roughly 440 thousand pounds per month.
No highs & lows just a constant close to half a Million a month.

[I_am_Batman]

You're off by three orders of magnitude there, so it's not quite as bad as you made it sound, but still - when you consider that a game like Modern Warfare II alone generated almost 2 months of Gamepass revenue in 3 days it becomes quite clear why this pace of growth won't cut it for Microsoft if they want to rely primarily on subscriptions for their heavy hitters.

It's kinda funny that Microsoft has maneuvered themselves into this situation, where a good portion of their core fanbase doesn't want to pay for the games anymore, but at the same time they're protesting the big games going multiplatform, which effectively means they don't want anyone else to pay for it either.

As a result we're seeing games that actually could work under the GP model go multiplat, while games that need à la carte most, stay exclusive for now.

I said this for years, but at some point something's got to give. If growth of the service stagnates either prices have go up, cost have to be cut or additional revenue streams need to be found. Most likely it's gonna be a combination of all these factors.

[Eonjay]

I think Microsoft has decided to 'back into' profitability on Xbox. The fanatics should be satisfied with the PR show and it should be enough to keep them distracted long enough to get this plan into motion. Start with 4 games. Still expect Starfield this year after the DLC drops in September. And other games will be be released as they hit the year mark. They have an assortment of older titles they can do as well, but Microsoft will get it done. The not have a wealth of content they can use get revenue.

[shinoff2183]

Idda paid for a few just to have my library on ps consoles. Ms doesn't want me to buy physically then I just won't buy on their console. I'll stick to gamepass exclusively.

[Einhander1972]

I don't know where you got that "Majority paying for Ultimate at £12.99" part, because they is clearly not true.

"Microsoft also started converting Xbox Live Gold subscribers over to Xbox Game Pass Core last year, and the company has confirmed to The Verge that the 34 million includes those subscribers, too."

It's likely true that the number of actual game pass subscribers is lower than the 25M they said in the past and I still firmly believe that the majority of actual game pass subscribers are on PC and wouldn't even want Ultimate.

"No highs & lows just a constant close to half a Million a month"

Then realize that they need to fund 29 (or how ever many studios they have) whole development budget plus put enough 3'rd party games on the service to keep it interesting then on top of that pay for all the costs in running and maintaining the service.

Reality check, xbox is burning money like a forest fire.

[ApocalypseShadow]

It's what I've been saying. There's no way they would spend 80 billion, then fund all those developers that would cost billions to make games, then give them away in a subscription service. Just no way. If Sony and Nintendo denied them access to their systems, Xbox would be sure as dead. They would have to close multiple developers or sell them to someone else. They had to go multiplatform.

They F'd themselves over. And we've seen it a long time ago. Their fans just didn't want to listen. There's games on Xbox. Some good ones. But worldwide, most don't want to buy an Xbox. And their fans don't want to buy games. But kept promoting game pass over and over.

They deserve the fallout.

[andy85]

I know you meant million so ill answer it to that. Absolutely miles out. Like 10 million of those are GP core and do you think rest are all paying £12.99? My ultimate was £100 for 3 years, buying gold and converting it. Do you realise how many do that? That £12.99 became under £3 from me.

[Sephiroushin]

I and few of my friends a couple months ago also paid 90$ for 3 years by converting it and using another region codes, i think it was from Turkey... some of my friends use the points they give for using their browser etc to get gamepass so they technically do not spend a dime

[XBManiac]

I pay less than 1$ for GP a month... well... it still is an user. I've been doing this for years. Does it count?

[RGB]

The fact that it includes the old Xbox Live Gold number (which is now GamePass Core) is very telling on how poor growth has been, but also that Gold was at best 9 million subs towards the end, a far cry from the dominating Xbox 360 days Microsoft wishes Xbox could return to.

A side note - PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium combined = 48 million.
Seems GamePass will be the 3rd biggest subscription service out of PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox by April this year.

[Tacoboto]

How are articles like these allowed, but not ones like yesterday's about Sony's executive talking about multiplatform?

This information, just like Sony's, is buried in the top article of the day too, after all

[InUrFoxHole]

Now you're talking my boy! Let N4g be your guide!

[badz149]

great, more people NOT buying games

[Bathyj]

The irony being Microsoft desperately wants you to buy games. On Playstation and Switch.

[repsahj]

From 37 million in 2022 to 34 million in 2023?

[shinoff2183]

Wasn't it 33 mill the last info we had

[gold_drake]

this also included Gamepass Core

so .. how much did it actually grow then? thats what i wanna know.

[Sephiroushin]

it didnt grow at all, it was 25m of GP and 12m of Live gold (which are now GP Core) and are included, it would make it to 37m but now it seems it's down to 34m, so GP lost 3 million subscribers i would not call that a grow unless they are talking about revenue ...

[__y2jb]

Those 34 million subscribers now have to pay the wage bill of all Bethesda, activision and blizzard each month since Xbox mostly turned off the revenue streams of those companies.

It’s not profitable.

[Bathyj]

I don't think people realise that Microsoft not only bought a lot of developers and IP but they bought a lot of bills, they bought a lot of expenses, and all those mouths need to be fed

[MrNinosan]

Ouch, 34 including Core... now that's real bad.

[ocelot07]

So they actually lost a few million subscribers? It gamepass core is included? Guess it's time to bring back the £1 a month subs lol.

[EasilyTheBest]

However, in an interview for journalist Stephen Totilo’s Game File newsletter, Xbox head Phil Spencer elaborated more on the figure, noting that it isn’t simply counting players on free trials or other promotional deals.

“That’s fully paid,” Spencer explained. “So those are not promotional players. Those are people, fully paid subs.”

Totilo then asked Spencer if the numbers were being cooked somewhat by last year’s rebranding of Xbox Live Gold to Xbox Game Pass Core, essentially turning all Xbox Gold subscribers into Game Pass subscribers.

Spencer replied that the number of players who had Xbox Live Gold but not Game Pass and could now be added to the count was “a pretty small number”, and that the growth in subscriber numbers can be attributed more to players on PC and the cloud.

“When there’s a fixed number of console players on the planet you’re not going to grow Game Pass forever by shipping just on consoles,” he explained. “So we’re seeing really significant growth on PC, which is great, and cloud.”

[Einhander1972]

The problem here is, you believe Phil and would rather listen to his spin than analyze what he is actually saying and cut through the BS.

"Totilo then asked Spencer if the numbers were being cooked somewhat by last year’s rebranding of Xbox Live Gold to Xbox Game Pass Core, essentially turning all Xbox Gold subscribers into Game Pass subscribers."

Now read Phil answer...

"Spencer replied that the number of players who had Xbox Live Gold but not Game Pass and could now be added to the count"

Translation: Yes, the numbers are cooked by counting gold conversions.

And if they are so insignificant why not just provide actual subscriber numbers...

"So we’re seeing really significant growth on PC, which is great, and cloud.”

So as I said, PC not console.

Straight up reality, if xbox and game pass were doing good this whole topic wouldn't exist. xbox is failing #dealwithit.

[EasilyTheBest]

"Spencer replied that the number of players who had Xbox Live Gold but not Game Pass and could now be added to the count was a pretty small number”
You missed a bit.
Microsoft have a turnover of over 4 Billion a year from Gamepass.
This year there'll be some nice big hitters going to Gamepass plus titles like Call of Duty. Gamepass numbers are only going to go up especially on PC.
If Xbox & Gamepass were doing so bad Microsoft would just scrap it...

[raWfodog]

"Microsoft have a turnover of over 4 Billion a year from Gamepass."

Are you talking about profit or revenue? And do you remember where you saw that information?

[EasilyTheBest]

Turnover is Revenue. I thought everyone knew this..