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Xbox Game Pass Subscribers: How Many Game Pass Subscribers are There in 2024?

Matija Ferjan Matija Ferjan
Last updated: 2 years ago
5 min read

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass has over 25 million subscribers and has come a long way from its initial release in 2017. See the subscriber growth and more fascinating data below.

Xbox Game Pass Subscribers

Xbox Game Pass cannot be compared to other “all you can eat” services like Netflix or Spotify. The music streaming industry has cutthroat conditions that often pay little to the authors.

But the Game Pass subscription service has many more opportunities to upsell the players on bonus content like DLCs, add-ons, and cosmetics. Plus, data shows that putting your game onto the platform increases sales and recognition if the game is good and well-received. Bad games, on the other hand, ruin their reputation and hurt their sales.

What is Xbox Game Pass?

It’s a Microsoft video game subscription service that lets you play any game in the library for a monthly fee of $10 or $15 per month. It includes over 100 games, many AAA and AA titles, plus indie games from smaller developers.

Since its launch on June 1, 2017, it has amassed millions of paid users and is covering a significant market share.

The Xbox and PC Game Passes cost around $10/month, and the Game Pass Ultimate (includes Xbox cloud gaming) costs $15/month.

On January 2022, Microsoft declared they intended to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Game Pass could become an unrivaled leader among game subscription services if the deal goes through. By adding games like Call of Duty, Starcraft, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and more, competitors will have their work cut for them.

Here are the latest Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers, growth rates, revenue, and more about the video game platform changing the gaming landscape.

Quick Facts About Xbox Game Pass Subscribers

  • Over 25 million people are subscribed to Xbox Game Pass in 2022.
  • In FY 2022, Xbox game pass grew 28%, short of the 73% goal.
  • Average Game Pass annual subscriber growth for last 3 years was 50.4%.
  • Xbox content and services revenue was $12.7 billion in fiscal year 2022.
  • Game Pass subscribers spend 50% more on games, add-ons, and in-game purchases.
  • A Game Pass user, “owns” around 50 video game titles.
  • New games in the Xbox Game Pass see an average 830% increase in players.
  • PowerWash Simulator is the most popular Xbox Game Pass title, with 2 million “owners”.

Xbox Game Pass Subscribers

How many game pass subscribers are there?

  • In 2022, Microsoft claims over 25 million people are subscribed to their Xbox game pass service.

Here’s a breakdown of the number of Xbox game pass subscribers per year:

Year – MonthXbox Game Pass subs
2022 January25 million
2021 JanuaryOver 18 million
2020 September15 million
2020 AprilOver 10 million
Sources: SEC filings

Microsoft doesn’t regularly report Xbox game pass subscriber numbers in their corporate reports. Still, they occasionally let the public know about their new milestones.

According to Microsoft, from Spring 2020 to January 2022, game pass subscriber numbers have grown 2.5x. This growth is quite substantial, but if we look at the actual growth rate and targets, we can see it slowing down.

Below are the growth rates of Xbox game pass subscribers and Microsoft’s goals which they disclose in company reports.

Xbox Game Pass Subscriber Growth

  • In the 2022 Microsoft fiscal year, Xbox game pass growth was 28%, short of the 73% goal.

Here’s a table of Game Pass growth compared to corporate goals.

Fiscal yearCorporate goalActual growth
2021/202272.88%28.07%
2020/202147.79%37.48%
2019/202071%85.75%

Microsoft’s fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the next year. Growth has been significant, but it’s slowing down, as we can see from the data for the last 3 years.

How does Xbox Game Pass growth compare to other game services?

Microsoft doesn’t disclose the actual numbers; therefore, the only data we can compare are reported growth rates.

Here’s a growth comparison of Game Pass with PlayStation Plus:

YearXbox Game Pass GrowthY/Y ChangePlayStation Plus GrowthY/Y Change
Q2 202228%-25.3%45.4%-3.8%
Q2 202137.5%-56.3%47.2%+2.8%
Q2 202085.75%/45.9%+24.4

To make data comparable, we compared Sony data for Q2 of each year since Microsoft’s fiscal year ends on June 30 (Q2).

Find more PlayStation statistics here.

Xbox Game Pass Revenue

  • Xbox content and services revenue was $12.7 billion for the fiscal year 2022.

Microsoft doesn’t disclose the revenue numbers for the Game Pass alone. Still, we know the revenue for the category it belongs to, Xbox content and services.

Here’s a table with Game Pass accounting group revenue:

Fiscal yearXbox revenueGrowth (%)
2022$12.7 billion$400 million (7%)
2021$12.3 billion$2.3 billion (23%)
2020$10 billion$943 million (11%)
2019$8.6 billion/
Xbox revenue = Xbox content and services revenue

Microsoft’s fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 next year. For example, the fiscal year 2022 began on July 1, 2021, and ended on June 30, 2022.

Source: Microsoft Corporation, Form 10-K.

How Active are Xbox Game Pass Subscribers?

Game Pass users spend 50% more on games, add-ons, and in-game purchases

Here are stats on Xbox Game Pass users:

  • Xbox Game Pass users play 40% more games in the first 3 months and delve into 30% extra genres.
  • Game Pass users spend 50% more on games, add-ons, and in-game purchases than similar players who aren’t subscribed.
  • A Game Pass user, on average, “owns” around 50 different video game titles.
  • Game Pass users come from 41 different countries.

How Does the Xbox Game Pass Impact Video Games?

Including a game in Xbox Game Pass increases exposure to a wider audience

Here are stats on games that are includes in the service:

  • Day 1 Game Pass titles see a 3.5x audience uplift compared to Steam in the first 30 days.
  • GameDiscoverCo estimates the median number of players for a game was 20k-50k on Steam and 70k-175k on Game Pass.
  • A new game included in the Xbox Game Pass sees an 830% average increase in players. The lowest increase in players was 160%, and the highest was 2800% in 2020 and 2021.
  • Indy games launched day 1 on Game Pass see a 1500% increase in players. The growth for large publishers is 350%.
  • Over 50 new titles were launched on the Xbox Game Pass on day 1. The median number of owners for these games is 230,000. This is great for indie developers who want exposure.
  • The average number of owners for a game on the service is 500,000, which includes big AAA titles that skew the number up.

Source: GameDiscoverCo

The service exposes the game to a much larger audience and improves sales if it is well received during launch. But the contrary, if the game has a bad launch with many bugs and negative feedback, it will negatively impact sales.

What are The Most Popular Xbox Game Pass Games?

  • According to GameDiscoverCo, PowerWash Simulator is the most popular Xbox ecosystem game, with around 2M owners.
Game nameXbox owners estimate
PowerWash Simulator2,020,000
Pac-Man Museum+960,000
Tunic930,000
Nobody Saves the World580,000
Pupperazzi330,000
Citizen Sleeper220,000
Floppy Knights180,000
Omori170,000
A Memoir Blue140,00

These numbers are estimates for the whole Xbox ecosystem, but it’s estimated 90%-99% of these owners come from the Game Pass.

Check stats on other popular games:

FAQ

How many subscribers does Xbox Game Pass have in 2022?

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass has over 25 million subscribers in 2022. The figure includes Xbox, PC, and Ultimate Pass subscribers. This is the highest number of users Microsoft ever disclosed which points to a growing trend for the service.

Is Xbox Game Pass growing?

Xbox Game Pass is growing, in FY 2022 subscriber numbers grew at 28%. This is considerable growth but short of the corporate goal of 73% for the same year. The data shows growth is slowing down compared to previous years when the growth was 37.5% and 85.75% respectively.

Is Xbox Game Pass making money?

The Game Pass accounting category: Xbox content and services revenue was $12.7 billion for the fiscal year 2022.

Read more:

Conclusion: Xbox Game Pass Subscribers & Facts 2022

These are the latest numbers on Game Pass users in 2022. The service has seen massive growth in a short amount of time but is showing signs of slowing down.

We will likely see new record numbers of subscribers if the Activision Blizzard merger goes through. How high do you think they can go?

P.S. If you’re interested in more data like this, check the articles above.

Sources:
  1. Microsoft, Microsoft SEC Filings. Accessed November 25, 2022.
  2. Sony, Supplemental Information for the Consolidated Financial Results Q2 2022. Published November 1, 2022. Accessed November 25, 2022.
  3. GameDiscoverCo, Xbox Game Pass titles in 2022: what’s their reach? Published September 28, 2022. Accessed November 25, 2022.
  4. GameDiscoverCo, In-depth: Game Pass stats, probed & deconstructed. Published March 28, 2022. Accessed November 25, 2022.

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