Xbox Game Pass has lost four million subscribers over the past two years, dropping from 34 million in 2024 to 30 million currently, according to reports from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. The decline follows a 50% price increase for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate implemented last year, which was partially reversed in April 2026.
Price Hike Blamed for Subscriber Loss
Microsoft’s chief strategy officer, Matthew Ball, acknowledged in June 2026 that the company lost “millions of subscribers” after the price hike. While it remains unclear if the exact figure is four million, the price increase is widely seen as the primary driver of the drop. Ball’s comments were made public during a presentation, with a tweet from Geoff Keighley capturing the admission: “Matthew Ball says Xbox shed 'millions of subscribers' when the Gamepass price increased 50 percent in Fall 2025.”
The subscriber numbers are far below Microsoft’s initial ambitions. Court documents from the Activision Blizzard acquisition revealed that Microsoft had set a goal of 77 million subscribers by fiscal year 2026, ending June 2027. The current figure of 30 million represents less than half of that target.
Microsoft’s Strategy Under Scrutiny
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma admitted in a note to staff ahead of recent layoffs that Game Pass had fallen short of expectations. “To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content,” Sharma wrote. “While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome.”
The subscriber decline comes amid broader challenges for Xbox, including layoffs and a reported pivot back to prioritizing console hardware as part of a brand “reset.” Microsoft had heavily marketed Game Pass as the “Netflix of gaming,” but the strategy has not yielded the anticipated growth.
Future of Xbox Game Pass
The future of Game Pass remains uncertain. It is expected to be a component of Microsoft’s next console, codenamed Project Helix, but Sharma’s comments suggest dissatisfaction with the service’s performance. Some analysts speculate that Microsoft may seek to restructure or even phase out the subscription model if it continues to underperform.
Despite the setback, Game Pass still boasts 30 million subscribers, making it one of the largest gaming subscription services. However, the gap between current numbers and Microsoft’s original projections highlights the challenges of sustaining growth in a competitive market.
