Game Pass lost millions of subscribers as a result of last year’s controversial price hike, Xbox chief strategy officer reveals

Xbox Game Pass experienced a significant subscriber decline following the service’s controversial October 2025 price increase, according to Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball. The price hike raised Game Pass Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99 per month—approximately a 50 percent increase—with PC Game Pass also receiving price increases. Microsoft justified the higher prices partly through the addition of Call of Duty as a day-one game available on the service.

In remarks made during The Game Business Live at Summer Game Fest, Ball revealed that the pricing strategy directly resulted in the loss of “millions” of subscribers. While the exact number of remaining subscribers was not disclosed, the impact represents a substantial decline from the 34 million subscribers the service reportedly had in 2024. The revelation marks an unusual moment of transparency from Xbox regarding the commercial consequences of its pricing decisions.

The subscriber loss underscores the sensitivity around game subscription service pricing. Despite Call of Duty’s addition to the catalog—a major franchise that Microsoft spent years acquiring rights to include—the significantly higher monthly cost proved unsustainable for a large segment of Game Pass’s user base. Ball’s comments suggest that Xbox is navigating a difficult balance between maintaining higher subscription prices for profitability and retaining subscribers in an increasingly competitive subscription market.

Game Pass lost millions of subscribers as a result of last year’s controversial price hike, Xbox chief strategy officer reveals

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