Why did Game Pass fail to grow as expected?
Game Pass initially expanded its offer from a $9.99 catalogue to day-one Microsoft games and PC access, while Microsoft publicly reported more than 15 million members in 2020 and more than 25 million in 2022. Later changes worked against that broad proposition: Microsoft stopped taking new Console subscriptions, rebuilt the plans into three tiers and raised Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99 a month. Xbox strategy chief Matthew Ball then said the October increase cost millions of subscribers, and leadership subsequently said the Game Pass strategy had not grown as expected while announcing planned layoffs and studio sales.
Trace the chain
Early expansion
- 1Catalogue launchAnnouncement
Microsoft announces Xbox Game Pass
Microsoft announced Xbox Game Pass for $9.99 per month. It said the service offered access to more than 100 Xbox One and backward-compatible Xbox 360 games.
XBOX Wire ·
Xbox Game Pass gives you unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and backward compatible Xbox 360 games – all for $9.99 per month.
Why it matters here. The $9.99 catalogue gave Microsoft a subscription base on which it could add a stronger reason to join: new Microsoft Studios games on release day.
Xbox Game Pass: The Price Rise, the Reversal and the Metered Cloud
- 2Day-one promiseAnnouncement
Microsoft commits new Xbox exclusives to Game Pass on release day
Microsoft said new Xbox One exclusive games from Microsoft Studios would enter Xbox Game Pass on their global release date. The policy covered future releases.
XBOX Wire ·
Moving forward, we plan to release all new Xbox One exclusive games from Microsoft Studios into Xbox Game Pass on the same date as their global release.
Why it matters here. The release-day commitment increased the service's appeal, so Microsoft next broadened Game Pass through a PC plan and broad Ultimate availability.
Xbox Game Pass: The Price Rise, the Reversal and the Metered Cloud
- 3PC expansionLaunch
Microsoft adds PC Game Pass to Game Pass Ultimate
Microsoft launched Xbox Game Pass for PC and made Game Pass Ultimate broadly available. PC Game Pass was added to Ultimate at no additional cost.
XBOX Wire ·
Today, we are adding Xbox Game Pass for PC to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at no additional cost.
Why it matters here. Adding PC access widened where subscribers could use Game Pass, and Microsoft subsequently reported that the service had more than 15 million members.
Xbox Game Pass: The Price Rise, the Reversal and the Metered Cloud
- 415 million membersFinancial
Microsoft reports more than 15 million Game Pass members
Microsoft said Xbox Game Pass had more than 15 million members. It said those members were from 41 countries.
XBOX Wire ·
As we announced last week, we now have more than 15 million Xbox Game Pass members from 41 countries.
Why it matters here. Microsoft reported more than 15 million Game Pass members in 2020, and later reported that more than 25 million Game Pass members played Xbox games each month.
Xbox Game Pass: The Price Rise, the Reversal and the Metered Cloud
- 525 million membersFinancial
Microsoft reports over 25 million Game Pass members
Microsoft said more than 25 million Xbox Game Pass members played Xbox games each month. The figure was included in its Activision Blizzard acquisition announcement.
Microsoft Source ·
More than 100 million gamers, including over 25 million Xbox Game Pass members, play Xbox games across console, PC, mobile phones and tablets each month.
Why it matters here. After this public growth milestone, Microsoft later stopped accepting new Game Pass for Console subscriptions, narrowing one route into the service.
Xbox Game Pass: The Price Rise, the Reversal and the Metered Cloud
What pushes back
- 6Console sign-ups stop
Microsoft stops new Game Pass for Console subscriptions
Microsoft said Xbox Game Pass for Console would stop accepting new users. It also announced a forthcoming Game Pass Standard tier without day-one releases.
Windows Central ·
Soon, Xbox Game Pass for Console will be shuttered for new users only.
What it pushes against. Closing new Console subscriptions pushed against a broad-entry approach, so Microsoft proceeded toward a redesigned set of subscription tiers.
Xbox Game Pass: The Price Rise, the Reversal and the Metered Cloud
- 7Tier reset
Game Pass is rebuilt into Essential, Premium and Ultimate
Microsoft replaced Core and Standard with Essential and Premium, kept Ultimate at the top and moved every existing subscriber across automatically. Ultimate's price went from $19.99 to $29.99 a month, a 50 percent rise, justified by a larger library and added services.
Xbox Wire, via Total Gaming Network ·
Starting today, we're introducing three upgraded Game Pass plans based on how players play: Essential, Premium, and Ultimate. Each includes expanded game libraries, including PC titles, unlimited cloud gaming, in-game…
What it pushes against. The Essential, Premium and Ultimate redesign raised Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99 a month, and Ball later said the late-2025 50 percent increase shed millions of subscribers over a few months.
Xbox Game Pass: The Price Rise, the Reversal and the Metered Cloud
- 8Millions lost
Ball says the price rise cost Game Pass millions of subscribers
Speaking publicly at The Games Business, Xbox's new strategy chief put a size on the damage from the October increase. It was the first acknowledgement from inside the company that the rise had driven subscribers away.
This Week In Video Games ·
Ball also touched on the effects of the Xbox Game Pass price increase, which saw a 50% hike in late 2025, saying "we shed millions of subscribers over the span of a few months."
What it pushes against. Ball's statement that the October rise cost millions of subscribers preceded leadership's conclusion that the Game Pass strategy had not grown as expected.
Xbox Game Pass: The Price Rise, the Reversal and the Metered Cloud
- 9Bet underdelivers
Xbox cuts up to 3,200 staff and sells four studios, and says the Game Pass bet underdelivered
Asha Sharma told staff the division would shed up to 3,200 people, about 20 percent of headcount, over the following year, and that Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games and Double Fine would be spun out or sold. Her memo said the bet on Game Pass, multi-platform publishing and a broader content portfolio had created meaningful value but had not grown at the pace the company expected.
Variety ·
Xbox is set to reduce its workforce by up to 3,200 employees - or 20% of total staff - over the next year in what new CEO Asha Sharma calls the "most significant restructure" in the Microsoft division's history.
What it pushes against. Xbox's admission that the Game Pass bet underdelivered, alongside planned layoffs and studio sales, is the outcome of the shift from early expansion to a costlier, more restricted offer.
Xbox Game Pass: The Price Rise, the Reversal and the Metered Cloud
Changes to this chain
- Proposal #67 accepted (verify:v1): why of step 3 -> Adding PC access widened where subscribers could use Game Pass, and Microsoft subsequently reported that the service had more than 15 million members.; why of step 4 -> Microsoft reported more than 15 million Game Pass members in 2020, and later reported that more than 25 million Game Pass members played Xbox games each month.; why of step 7 -> The Essential, Premium and Ultimate redesign raised Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99 a month, and Ball later said the late-2025 50 percent increase shed millions of subscribers over a few months.
Timelines in this chain
- Xbox Game Pass: The Price Rise, the Reversal and the Metered Cloud
- The Road to PlayStation 6: PS5 Pro, Project Amethyst, Two Price Hikes and the Memory Crunch
- Nintendo Switch 2: From the Successor Tease to a Record Launch, 23 Million Units and the $499.99 Price
- Do You Own Your Games? The Crew, AB 2426 and the Buy-Button Lawsuits
A chain is written by the editor from entries already published on the timelines above, each of which was read against its source before publication. The chain changes when those entries do. Data and terms.