Xbox Says 'Million of Subscribers' Canceled Game Pass Subscriptions Following 2025 Price Hike
Microsoft later cut the monthly Ultimate tier to $22.99 after acknowledging the service had become too expensive for players.
- Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball revealed the service lost "millions of subscribers" following a 50 percent price increase implemented in Fall 2025.
- Last October, Microsoft raised the monthly cost for Game Pass Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99, a 50 percent hike that prompted many fans to revoke their subscriptions.
- Prior to the hike, Game Pass had at least 34 million subscribers as of February 2024, with revenue reportedly reaching nearly $5 billion by July 2025.
- Xbox CEO Asha Sharma admitted the service became "too expensive for players," prompting Microsoft to reduce Game Pass Ultimate to $22.99 monthly this past April.
- To win back players, Microsoft is now emphasizing exclusive games, with Ball noting the company has "corrected that offering" to validate the Xbox platform investment.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Xbox confirms millions of gamers quit Game Pass and its scrambling to recover
Xbox substantially raised Game Pass prices in October 2025, a price hike that cost Microsoft millions of players, according to Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball. He spoke at Summer Game Fest's The Game Business Live event on Monday and shared insights into the business side of Game Pass.
Xbox Says 'Million of Subscribers' Canceled Game Pass Subscriptions Following 2025 Price Hike
Microsoft says Xbox Game Pass lost "millions of subscribers" after it increased prices by 50% with a price hike in October 2025.Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball relayed the damage during a live taping with The Game Business today. The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest host Geoff Keighley was in attendance and shared his words on social media today. GameSpot also shared an extended version of Microsoft executive's quote."We shed millions o…
Microsoft Lost Millions of Xbox Game Pass Subscribers After Price Hike
Microsoft has revealed that millions of Xbox Game Pass subscribers cancelled their memberships following a significant increase in subscription pricing. The disclosure came from Xbox executive Matthew Ball, who acknowledged the scale of the customer losses but stopped short of providing exact figures or percentages.
Xbox Game Pass Lost 'Millions' Of Subscribers Following October 2025 Price Increase
Xbox CSO Matthew Ball confirms it.There was a lot of controversy in October of last year when Xbox announced that it was increasing the prices of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass by quite a substantial amount - XGPU went from $19.99 to $29.99 per-month.So, it comes as no surprise that the decision had a severely detrimental effect on the number of subscribers to the service overall, with new Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball confi…
Xbox executive says Game Pass "lost millions of subscribers" as a direct impact of the brand's egregious price hikes
Xbox has revealed that its controversial Game Pass price increase led to the loss of millions of subscribers. New comments from Matthew Ball offer a rare look at the impact of the decision and how Xbox has since adjusted its subscription strategy.
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