The Number of Xbox Game Pass Subscribers Leaked via LinkedIn

A LinkedIn resume of a Microsoft program manager suggests Xbox Game Pass has "over 35 million" subscribers.

[jznrpg]

Yeah that’s legit way to get numbers…….

[Obscure_Observer]

It is.

And Gamepass subscribers numbers only going to increase tremendously with games now costing $80+ dollars!

The best deal in game just got better overnight.

[VenomUK]

REMEMBER: This now includes the cheap, rebranded Xbox Live Game Pass Core subscribers.

[andy85]

Literally what venom says. Those numbers are because they rebranded Xbox gold subscribers to gamepass to fudge the subscriber numbers more. They haven't increased for years so $80 games isnt doing that. It'll just mean another GP price hike.

[crazyCoconuts]

As if GamePass has a magical shield that protects it from price increases

[MrBeatdown]

Making Game Pass out to be better because Microsoft just made not subscribing worse is a hell of a spin.

[InUrFoxHole]

Funny... When console numbers are brought up, no one ever says its because of people buying multiple consoles in the same home or the collectors buying for show. They're just counted as new sales.

[Kornholic]

How is that possible? Xbox ecosystem isn't getting any new customers, and all the current Xbox customers that want GamePass are already subscribers.

GamePass subscriber numbers have stagnated for a long time because they have reached their absolute peak.

The only way they could achieve growth in subscribers would be to introduce GamePass on Playstation, but that is never going to happen.

[S2Killinit]

Not the “best deal”. Not at all. $20/month! No thank you.

[The Wood]

you've got it backwards my friend

[darthv72]

@FoxHole... I know what you mean. I alone have somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 PS4 variants and over 20 Xbox One variants. all of which count as sales toward the respective platform totals but yet for a single person. I only have the one sub for each platform.

[TheEroica]

The anger in those 70 downvotes is delicious. Sony folk hate that Microsoft has built momentum. It shatters their world view.

[lukasmain]

You would think it would be more by now considering the recent offerings GP has AND the fact that if you want to play online on Xbox console then you must sub to GP. Tbh 35mil doesn't seem that great at all. MAybe that's why they don't tell us the numbers. Not since a year or so ago in the "business update" stream that woman said it was over 34 million.

[Scissorman]

It hasn't grown to the rate that would have justified putting all their first-party games on the service and courting high profile indie and third-party AAA games. Microsoft figured that everyone would openly embrace the 'Netflix of gaming' model but it's been largely rejected and it has stagnated in growth. To make matters worse, collapsing console sales meant way fewer opportunities for new Game Pass subscribers. All of this is why MS ostensibly sees Sony and Nintendo as more of a partner now, instead of a competitor. MS needs those ecosystems to be healthy and strong so they have audiences to sell their games to, as their own wasn't nearly enough to sustain Xbox.

[Extermin8or3_]

I don't know ow what they thought would happen. I think most subscribers subscribe for a month or two then cancel until the next game they want to play on the service arrives. Part of the problem is games take up way more time to play than watching a film or even a TV show does and you can't really do other things whilst gaming. So the value of gamespass is incredibly limited. Most people with full jobs may take 2 + months to play larger games. I'm which case it's often approaching being cheaper to buy the game. If you buy annual call of duty titles - and play them throughout the year. It's better value to buy them and just pay the money upfront. If you arr primarily a COD player like many people are. Then 12 months of 20 dollars vs 1 off 70 or 80 dollar price tag.

[DivineHand125]

This numbers are good. 35 million is a large number especially if Microsoft is getting a monthly income from all those members.

One thing that is bottlenecking Gamepass success is the console sales. I have a feeling that the majority of Gamepass subscribers are the people who game on Xbox consoles. Xbox and Microsoft should have done a better job at encouraging people to game on their Xbox console.

I was always an advocate of them putting a light version of windows on their series consoles and open it up to have multiple store fronts similar to their handheld. If executed correctly, it will drive demand for their consoles as cheaper entry level gaming PCs.

[Scissorman]

85% of Game Pass subscribers are on console.

[darthv72]

....funny, that is the plan going forward, starting with the ROG handhelds and then to other PC handhelds later. I assume they will also be doing the stripped down gaming version of windows for enthusiasts as well.

[__y2jb]

Remember GP operating costs will be eye wateringly high.

[Chevalier]

Nah these numbers are terrible as this includes Gold being converted to Gamepass Core. Xbox has missed targets 3 years straight and no growth at all even with these massive purchases. It's honestly sad Xbox fans get fooled so damn easily.

[Extermin8or3_]

Except if they do that, they can't really be subsidising the cost of the hardware because the whole business model is you do that and make the money back on the 30% of all game sales. Without that the hardware will cost a fair bit more...

[neutralgamer1992]

I don't wonder for how long will MD try to sustain this model before giving up and going back to traditional business model in gaming. If by 2030 there are 50 million monthly active users I could see them making major changes. It's an amazing service for gamers but in AAA space it's really hard to keep pumping money into something that's not returning major profits

[anast]

Leaked via a social media platform. HA!

[ARESWARLORD]

I Love game pass ultimate it works out really well I get to try the newest games on my PC and my son gets to play whatever him and his buddies decide because they're all on game pass and Xbox

[Hypertension140]

Microsoft has gotten all of you too comfortable with renting games that you didn't even notice they completely stop selling physical media.

[darthv72]

physical media... is that still a thing? People who game on steam will tell you its been decades since they last put a disc into their PC. Consoles being the last bastion for the declining medium is sure going out with a whimper instead of a bang. Digital sales are up YoY for all platforms. What you see in the physical releases are mostly from outfits like LRG and SLG and the like. Releases going for a premium simply because it comes in a box. Im done with filling my shelves like that, I much rather just scroll through the menu on my screen and play what the mood strikes me.

[SubtilizZer]

Makes at least 4Bs a year off subscriptions and cost supposedly over 1B to maintain…. That’s a success I think.

[Orpheo]

If your numbers are accurate then that certainly is a success.

[TiredGamer]

It's not just about "maintenance". Business is about "opportunity cost". What one decision is costing you versus another one. Case in point, let's take CoD. If CoD could have sold 30M copies on the XBox platform, that could have been $2.1B in revenue (30,000,000 * $70 = $2,100,000,000). So if you're giving up $2.1B on just one game for $4B overall in subscription revenue, it makes you wonder what the other games were earning. If it was more than the remaining $1.9B (of that $4B they supposedly make), then the Gamepass model is a bad business decision.

Moral of the story is that MS is desperate to carve out a GROWTH model, otherwise the investors will push to kill the business model. Just being profitable isn't good enough if you are leaving money on the table or not growing.

[Reaper22_]

I think the moral of the story is that you don't know what you're talking about. They can still make that and more with monthly subscriptions. Just because games are in gamepass it doesn't prevent anyone from buying it.

[CrashMania]

Where's your source for this? Considering MS hide any real, substantive Xbox numbers I'm willing to bet that's not the case.

[Exthun]

It’s a way to deceive investors, which seems to be the only thing that matters to Nadella. They know their console is dead, and now they want to come up with the PC Xbox and games everywhere.

[YourMommySpoils]

game pass subsribers = bad at math

[MatrixxGT]

That’s ironic.
Let’s say you have a kid that has to play COD every year. Well you’re paying $15mo just to play online regardless. Then you’re spending $80 on just that one game.
Or you spend just $5 more per mo and only spend $60 over the course of the year and also get day one availability of all the other games.
Knock it all you want but for many people it’s a set it and forget it type deal.

[DazaMc]

I had three years of converted Xbox live time. It's running out soon and I won't be subscribing a full price.

[ocelot07]

Seems kind of low? 35mil between Core, Standard, Ultimate, PC. How many of them are the ones who converted Xbox Live to GP for years? How many are the kind who only sub when a new day one title drops?

[spoonard]

"My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night,"

[darthv72]

...sounds pretty serious