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Microsoft has finally released some new numbers on subscribers for Xbox Game Pass. After more than two years, Microsoft has announced that it has now surpassed 34 million subscribers. That’s up nearly 36% from the last number Microsoft gave in 2022, of around 25 million.
Previously, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer admitted that he had been seeing growth slow for Xbox Game Pass on consoles, saying “I’ve seen growth slow down, mainly because at some point you’ve reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe.” Then Microsoft expanded Xbox Game Pass to PCs, and now we’re seeing growth once again. However, this isn’t a number that Microsoft touts routinely, so hard to really see how the growth is looking right now.
Microsoft has an ambitious goal of getting 100 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers by 2030. Obviously, they are still pretty far off from that right now, but the good news is, it’s only 2024. They’ve got six years to hit that goal. However, they are only a third of the way there.
This number means people aren’t flocking to Game Pass for Xbox Cloud Gaming on mobile devices
Xbox has really expanded Game Pass over the years, it’s not available on PC as well as mobile devices. But this 34 million number means that we aren’t seeing users flock to Game Pass for Xbox Cloud Gaming on mobile devices. It’s also reflective of the fact that Xbox Series S and X haven’t been selling as well as the PlayStation 5 and PS5 Slim.
Remember, that Microsoft’s goal isn’t to convert everyone into a Game Pass subscriber, instead, Spencer stated that “it’s a good business for us today, Game Pass, but in no way is there a plan that says ‘Okay, everybody needs to become a Game Pass subscriber.'”
Xbox Game Pass starts at $9.99 per month. So if everyone got the lowest tier plan, that’s $340 million per month Microsoft is making from just this one service.