Xbox Game Pass loses subscribers after 2025 price increase

Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription service lost millions of subscribers following a significant price increase last year, a company executive confirmed this week. The admission highlights a major misstep in the company's strategy and its subsequent efforts to win back customers.

Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball revealed the subscriber losses during an interview at Summer Game Fest 2026. He stated that "millions" of users canceled their subscriptions in the months after the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate jumped from $19.99 to $29.99 per month in October 2025. The 50% increase was intended to support a stronger offering with more high-profile titles, but it prompted immediate and widespread backlash from the community.

The scale of the loss is significant given that Microsoft had previously reported over 34 million Game Pass subscribers, with the service generating billions in annual revenue. Ball's comments confirm that the negative reaction translated into a substantial number of actual cancellations, as many consumers found the new price difficult to justify.

In response to the downturn, Microsoft under new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced a price reduction earlier...