Xbox Game Pass downgraded from killer app to ‘just another option’ by Phil Spencer Michael Beckwith Published April 17, 2025 12:41pm Updated April 17, 2025 12:41pm Something tells us Microsoft isn’t as confident about reaching 110 million subscribers by 2030 anymore (Microsoft) Comments from Xbox boss Phil Spencer suggest Xbox Game Pass is no longer as important to the business as it once was. There was a time when Xbox Game Pass was seen as the killer app for Microsoft’s consoles. As one of the earliest examples of a subscription service for video games, many thought that it would go on to define the future of gaming. It’s certainly influenced other companies, with Sony updating its PlayStation Plus service in 2022 to operate more similarly to Game Pass. However, as the years have gone on, it’s been clear that Game Pass, and subscription services in general, have not had the impact that was expected. The launch of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Game Pass did little to boost its subscriber numbers over Christmas and now, after years of pushing it front and centre, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has downplayed the service’s significance, describing it as ‘not for everybody.’ This comes from a recent interview with Variety, the same one where Spencer spoke of the importance of supporting Nintendo Switch 2 even though no Microsoft published games have been officially announced for the console. When asked about how he viewed Game Pass’ role in the larger Xbox business, Spencer touted how Microsoft has ‘many business models for people playing,’ with Game Pass itself ‘just another option.’ ‘I look at Game Pass as a healthy option for certain people,’ explained Spencer, ‘It’s not for everybody. If you play one or two games a year, Game Pass probably isn’t the right business model for you, you should just buy those two games, and that would make total sense. But I want you to have the choice.’ This cuts to the heart of the problem, since it’s become clear that many casual gamers have neither the time nor the desire to play more games than they already do. This was not obvious before Game Pass existed but has gradually become clear over the years, with the huge number of high quality games available on the service essentially being wasted on many people. Spencer still speaks positively about the service, adding: ‘I look at the overall hours of people who are playing on Xbox, playing our games, and that’s a number that continues to grow fairly substantially, and that’s really the metric I think about for success. And Game Pass has been an important part of that… It’s kind of part of the equation for Xbox finding new players.’ Microsoft’s big strategy at the moment is to get its games into more peoples’ hands and not to rely on Xbox consoles to do so. It’s why it’s been doubling down on cloud streaming (to the point where you can now access Game Pass without the need for an Xbox console) and multiplatform releases, with more and more Xbox published games coming to PlayStation and (in theory) Nintendo consoles. More Trending Nevertheless, with console sales in sharp decline and Game Pass not proving to be the game-changer that was originally expected it does put Xbox in a tricky position. For years, Game Pass has been missing growth targets and Microsoft’s reticence to share exact subscriber numbers tells its own story. It did confirm in early 2024 that it had 34 million Game Pass subscribers, which sounds relatively impressive until you realise that that’s only nine million more than two years prior. Spencer once said that Microsoft would quit the gaming business if Game Pass subscriber numbers didn’t reach 110 million by 2030. That is now looking all but impossible but Spencer’s prediction is unlikely to come true now that Microsoft is, as a consequence of buying Activision Blizzard, the biggest games publisher in the West. However, the comment does highlight how pivotal Game Pass once was to the Xbox business – with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella once having subscriber numbers tied to his personal bonus – and yet now is being treated as no more important than multiplatform releases or cloud gaming. Are you still subscribed to Game Pass? (Microsoft) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy