Xbox Game Pass popularity lower than Microsoft's expectations - Media

According to The Wall Street Journal, Xbox Game Pass has not reached Microsoft's stated goal of 77 million subscribers by 2026.

For many years, Xbox made Game Pass the cornerstone of its strategy. According to The Wall Street Journal, the service has not achieved the expected scale.

The result was modest compared to Microsoft's past plans. Documents disclosed during the Activision Blizzard acquisition trial showed that the company wanted to reach 77 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers by 2026.

The situation looks even more interesting if we recall that in February 2024, 34 million players were using the service – even before Call of Duty was released on day one in the subscription. Later, price increases, including the rise in Ultimate's cost to $30 per month, led to the outflow of millions of users.

In April, the new head of Xbox, Asha Sharma, lowered prices: Ultimate became cheaper at $23, and PC Game Pass at $14. Microsoft also changed its strategy and refused to release new Call of Duty installments on the day of release in the subscription.

According to the latest data, the situation has begun to stabilize. However, 30 million subscribers remain far from Microsoft's goals.