Xbox Game Pass has reportedly garnered approximately 30 million subscribers, a figure that falls considerably short of internal company projections and represents a significant decline from earlier expectations. The revelation comes amidst broader concerns about Xbox's performance, highlighted by a recent announcement of 3,200 job cuts across the company.
Asha Sharma, Xbox CEO, indicated in a memo detailing the layoffs that the subscriber growth of Game Pass did not meet anticipated levels. This internal assessment aligns with a Wall Street Journal report stating the service's current subscriber count. Documents from the Federal Trade Commission's investigation into Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard previously projected that Game Pass would reach 77 million subscribers by July 2026. The current 30 million mark is a stark contrast to this target.
Further context on these projections was provided by former Xbox CEO Phil Spencer. During the same FTC investigation, Spencer suggested that if Xbox Game Pass did not exceed approximately 40 million subscribers on Xbox alone by fiscal year 2027, the company might consider exiting the gaming business. He conveyed the seriousness of this potential outcome, noting that such a scenario would significantly alter the future of the Xbox business and could lead to the company ceasing its involvement in gaming.
While Spencer's statements could be interpreted as a strategic effort to persuade regulators regarding the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Sharma's recent remarks solidify the notion that Game Pass has underperformed against expectations. The last official subscriber update from Microsoft was in February 2024, at which time the service reported 34 million users. Matthew Ball, Xbox's chief strategy officer, noted that the service experienced a loss of millions of players following a price increase in October 2025, and it appears the service has not yet recovered to its previous subscriber peak. This likely explains Microsoft's subsequent silence on subscriber figures.
Despite Sharma's June statement that Game Pass has seen renewed growth after more than eight months of decline, the service faces a substantial challenge in reaching the subscriber numbers desired by Xbox executives.