Microsoft finally updates Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers

Microsoft gives out a new Xbox Game Pass metrics update in its recent games business meeting.

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Xbox Game Pass now has 34 million subscribers, Xbox president Sarah Bond officially confirmed in the recent Xbox strategy briefing. In the same sentence, Bond also announced that Activision Blizzard games will start to release on Game Pass next month.

"Activision Blizzard games are coming to Game Pass starting with Diablo IV on March 28. It's all part of our commitment to make Xbox, the Xbox experience, and the games that we build as widely available as possible. So now the 34 million Game Pass members can all enjoy the fantastic experience of Diablo IV," Bond said.

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This is the first major update to Xbox Game Pass numbers that we've received in years. The last Game Pass figures were released on January 18, 2022, putting the subscription at 25 million paid users.

Today's updates show that Xbox Game Pass has grown by 9 million subscribers in two years, and it's possible that a portion of this growth was from Starfield's release, but most of the jump was likely due to the conversion of Xbox LIVE subscribers now being recognized as Game Pass subscribers through the Xbox Game Pass Core tier (Update; Microsoft has confirmed this 34 million value does include Xbox One Core subscribers).

As for the future of Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft has confirmed that the subscription service will only be available on Xbox platforms. That means no Game Pass fork on Nintendo or PlayStation.

Game Pass is still a pivotal part of Xbox's business strategy, but growing game sales has also become increasingly important as Xbox looks for ways to monetize and incorporate users off-platform.

On a surface level, nothing has changed for Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft still plans to release first-party games day one on the service, and there's been no discussions of another price hike (although that seems likely once ABK games start releasing).

Xbox gaming CFO Tim Stuart recently said that content and services is Xbox's north star

"As you think about content and services as our north star, it really smooths things out. You're still going to have a holiday bump, you're still going to have consoles that we sell, and customers that spend in those time periods, but even things like Game Pass...we announced 25 million Game Pass subscribers, obviously it's grown since then.

"Game Pass is millions and millions of subscribers month in and month out, which for me I love because it's a sort of paid annuity as opposed to you betting on those big game launches every quarter or every year. Game Pass helps us smooth it out as well.