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

Xbox Game Pass lost millions of subscribers following the fall 2025 price hike, Xbox's chief strategy officer Matthew Ball has revealed.

Speaking to Chris Dring during The Game Business Live during Summer Game Fest, Ball has helped paint a picture of the consequences of a roughly 50 percent price increase for the service plus the addition of Call of Duty to the line-up of available day-one games.

While the exact figure of remaining subscribers remains unclear, millions of lost users would mark a hefty dent in the 34m subscribers announced by then Xbox CEO Phil Spencer back in 2024, assuming that figure remained largely the same over the next 12 months.

In a leaked memo this year, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma admitted Game Pass had become too expensive for players, arguing the company needed a "better value equation" for the service. It's important to note that this April this price hike, the new Call of Duty was removed from the service and the price was taken down, so there appears to be a clear attempt at course correction from Microsoft here.

This reveal from Ball comes in the wake of a major strategy shift elsewhere from Xbox, as Gears of War: E-Day will not be coming to the PS5 in a bid to steer towards more game exclusivity. When exactly this decision was made is disputed, but it's clear this was a recent decision made by Xbox higher-ups.