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Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service grows to 34 million subscribers (includes GamePass Core, formerly Gold)

Darsxx82

Member
Embarrassing to actually lose subscribers. Guess the consistent $1 promos they used to have were a big driver of subs after all.
There is no loss of subscribers, it has already been clarified in VG...

That said, people forget an important aspect. And that aspect is that not all of those who were previously XBoxLive Gold only users are now Gamepass Core users, there is a quantity that has moved to Ultimate or XboxGamepass console when they were not before.

That is, MS has won in that conversion not only the name change.

And for the tread....

We went to content and services because it's actually more reflective now that Game Pass is kind of at a scale where it's a sustainable, profitable business for us. We don't have to have a discrete focus just on Game Pass, we should really just think about the health of the overall business on Xbox, which is people buying games, subscribing to games, buying items in games, and the things that people do on the platform that drive the business.
 
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Jaybe

Member
There is no loss of subscribers, it has already been clarified in VG...
Game pass had 25 million and Gold had 16 million at the end of 2021. That’s 41 million, so it’s down from there.

ETVtLkR.png
 

Kikorin

Member
For some reason I was not thinking GP is on PC too. If we include PC fanbase in the equation, these numbers seems a colossal failure. If they want to keep it only on Xbox/PC, I don't see how they can reach a sustainable number, even with CoD dropping at day-one.
 
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ShaiKhulud1989

Gold Member
There is no loss of subscribers, it has already been clarified in VG...
And why do you think those numbers were ignored during the latest MS call and GP growth was booted from the Nadella's bonus metrics? Because they are not something to boast about. Live Gold+Gamepass declined in two years despite the HW growth, there's no two ways about it.
 
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ProtoByte

Weeb Underling
Man IF I was incompetent as Phil is at reaching corporate goals id be unemployed what does that douchebag have on higher ups at MS
At this point, I doubt anyone wants to try righting this ship at all. That, and he always finds ways to justify and say "next time will be different". First, it was just righting Mattrick's wrongs (when he was really just doing them slower). Next it was the acquisition spree because "more studios will solve the problem". Then it was the Netflix of Games prophecy. Now it's full bore on multiplatformism.

But they could put the next Halo on PlayStation and Nintendo platforms day one, and it would not turn around their financials.

There's a structural issue at Microsoft as it pertains to gaming, and it's not that their games aren't on enough platforms.
 

Darsxx82

Member
Game pass had 25 million and Gold had 16 million at the end of 2021. That’s 41 million, so it’s down from there.

Game pass had 25 million and Gold had 16 million at the end of 2021. That’s 41 million, so it’s down from there.

ETVtLkR.png

ETVtLkR.png
First, Gamepass has not decreased, in fact it has grown LOL.
Are you counting the XBO users who have not made the jump to core because it is not worth it without an XSeries? So what you could say is that Xbox live Gold users have been lost in the move to Gamepass. Not that Gamepass has decreased.

The funny thing about it all is that the figure of 35 million is 2 million higher than the most optimistic figures that were given, even by the FTC itself (which also said that more than 2/3 were final)... and here it is that the spin now is to look for where to detract from the figures.
 

Jaybe

Member
There's a structural issue at Microsoft as it pertains to gaming, and it's not that their games aren't on enough platforms.
They know they are going to be checkmated helped along by a few own-goals, but execs need to put on a brave face and keep throwing out different strategies to justify existing. The gaming division is going to look quite bad next to AI and cloud if it’s still low single digit growth once reporting laps the acquisition date.
 

ProtoByte

Weeb Underling
They know they are going to be checkmated helped along by a few own-goals, but execs need to put on a brave face and keep throwing out different strategies to justify existing. The gaming division is going to look quite bad next to AI and cloud if it’s still low single digit growth once reporting laps the acquisition date.
Not even just low growth. The way costs are rising (game dev and otherwise), I would not be surprised if you're looking at Xbox back in the red.
 

Mr Moose

Member
First, Gamepass has not decreased, in fact it has grown LOL.
Are you counting the XBO users who have not made the jump to core because it is not worth it without an XSeries? So what you could say is that Xbox live Gold users have been lost in the move to Gamepass. Not that Gamepass has decreased.

The funny thing about it all is that the figure of 35 million is 2 million higher than the most optimistic figures that were given, even by the FTC itself (which also said that more than 2/3 were final)... and here it is that the spin now is to look for where to detract from the figures.
Anyone on Gold is now Core and Core wasn't a thing until September 14th 2023. When was the FTC thing? Core (Gold) and other GamePass has declined.
If you're on Xbox One and want to play online games, you're going to need that Core.
 

Darsxx82

Member
And why do you think those numbers were ignored during the latest MS call and GP growth was booted from the Nadella's bonus metrics? Because they are not something to boast about. Live Gold+Gamepass declined in two years despite the HW growth, there's no two ways about it.

LOL easy and simple, because the growth of Gamepass has not been in the numbers they would like...

That is a fact, as it is also that Gamepass has not decreased in numbers.... it has grown to 35 million, which in fact is a higher figure than what was given here as the best prediction.

Then, are you using the sum of Gamepass + Gold? In that case what you are stating is that Gold subscribers have been lost in the change to Core, not that Gamepass subscriptions have decreased.

Gold subscriptions were going to be reduced from the moment in which:

-No longer needed to play F2P online

-The rise in prices

-XBO people who have not made the jump to XSeries

The counterpart is that MS now has many millions more paying the price of Ultimate and that's why this:

We went to content and services because it's actually more reflective now that Game Pass is kind of at a scale where it's a sustainable, profitable business for us. We don't have to have a discrete focus just on Game Pass, we should really just think about the health of the overall business on Xbox, which is people buying games, subscribing to games, buying items in games, and the things that people do on the platform that drive the business.
https://www.theverge.com/24073666/m...h-games#:~:text=We went to,drive the business.
 

ShaiKhulud1989

Gold Member
LOL easy and simple, because the growth of Gamepass has not been in the numbers they would like...

That is a fact, as it is also that Gamepass has not decreased in numbers.... it has grown to 35 million, which in fact is a higher figure than what was given here as the best prediction.

Then, are you using the sum of Gamepass + Gold? In that case what you are stating is that Gold subscribers have been lost in the change to Core, not that Gamepass subscriptions have decreased.

Gold subscriptions were going to be reduced from the moment in which:

-No longer needed to play F2P online

-The rise in prices

-XBO people who have not made the jump to XSeries

The counterpart is that MS now has many millions more paying the price of Ultimate and that's why this:
All of the above is the old news. We're also have zero concrete financial data about GP, including even revenue. You've also provided zero data points to discuss.

But ok.
 

Three

Member
There is no loss of subscribers, it has already been clarified in VG...

That said, people forget an important aspect. And that aspect is that not all of those who were previously XBoxLive Gold only users are now Gamepass Core users, there is a quantity that has moved to Ultimate or XboxGamepass console when they were not before.

That is, MS has won in that conversion not only the name change.

And for the tread....


I've got to ask, when somebody in October suggested that MS should concentrate on services because their hardware sales were not working you said all these things. Do you still for a second believe any of it?

XSeries has sold 24-25 million in 3 years and there are still 5 years left of generation..... VERY, VERY, VERY, bad should happen so that it doesn't manage to sell another 20 million in that time and more when it will be the time when the games of esops 50+ Studios that MS now has will be in a position to launch their current projects.

On Xbox, at current figures, you have 21 million regular Gamepass users, of which more than half are premiums. Not counting the revenue from XBOX gold, which now becomes Gamepass Core (i.e. 41 million Gamepass users). Imagine not improving those numbers at the same time that more Xbox consoles are being sold and at the same time that more first-party games from big studios are being released on a more regular basis... Or even more graphically, imagine dispensing with that income from Xbox console users (in addition to 30% 3rd party fee, downloadable content, DLC, microtransactions...)



It's been 10 years since XBO was launched. The damage has already been done and the results were 50+ million consoles sold. That is, the loyal user base that the Xbox brand maintains. To believe that this loyal mass is going to turn its back significantly more when a situation now arises in terms of a massively better first-party catalog and exclusives is completely illogical. Repeat, 24-25 million XSEries sold in 3 years, it would be very, very, very unlikely that in 5 years XSeries won't be able to sell another 15-20 millones.

PS. Leaked MS documents say they predict between 55 million and 60 million by 2028
 
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Darsxx82

Member
Anyone on Gold is now Core and Core wasn't a thing until September 14th 2023. When was the FTC thing? Core (Gold) and other GamePass has declined.
If you're on Xbox One and want to play online games, you're going to need that Core.
Again, you are using the sum of Gamepass and Gold to draw the conclusion that "Gamepass has decreased" when NO, it has not decreased, it has risen to 35 million.

Then, from there, it's easy, what you are showing is a loss of Gold subscribers along the way, not Gamepass users.

The loss of Gold users along the way makes complete sense:
-Price increase
-You don't need gold to play F2P
-Not all XBO users have switched to XSeries to make paying interesting.

You have confirmation that the % increase in Gamepass due to the conversion to Core is minimal...... That should clarify a lot for you.
 

Mr Moose

Member
Again, you are using the sum of Gamepass and Gold to draw the conclusion that "Gamepass has decreased" when NO, it has not decreased, it has risen to 35 million.

Then, from there, it's easy, what you are showing is a loss of Gold subscribers along the way, not Gamepass users.

The loss of Gold users along the way makes complete sense:
-Price increase
-You don't need gold to play F2P
-Not all XBO users have switched to XSeries to make paying interesting.

You have confirmation that the % increase in Gamepass due to the conversion to Core is minimal...... That should clarify a lot for you.
Where are you getting 35 from?
 

Elios83

Member
LOL easy and simple, because the growth of Gamepass has not been in the numbers they would like...

That is a fact, as it is also that Gamepass has not decreased in numbers.... it has grown to 35 million, which in fact is a higher figure than what was given here as the best prediction.

Then, are you using the sum of Gamepass + Gold? In that case what you are stating is that Gold subscribers have been lost in the change to Core, not that Gamepass subscriptions have decreased.

Gold subscriptions were going to be reduced from the moment in which:

-No longer needed to play F2P online

-The rise in prices

-XBO people who have not made the jump to XSeries

The counterpart is that MS now has many millions more paying the price of Ultimate and that's why this:

You are making a bunch of assumptions and are trying to complicate things to picture a scenario you can't prove.
All Gold subscribers have been converted to Gamepass Core and there were 11m of them as of April 2022.
So if all these users stayed on Core, it would mean that Gamepass numbers actually declined.
You're saying that probably some of those Core have been lost/not renewed or that they migrated to higher tiers to make your claim that the service has not declined but it's impossible to quantify those changes, yet you present them as facts.

Regardless the reality, decline or not, is that with Core numbers included this data show a service that has completely stalled.
 
Its amazing Starfield contributed shit all to gamepass subs if you look at a longer timeline. So they added the core to the count to show their bosses growth for this year. Next year they definely betting on cod day 1 gamepass to bring in maximum growth. Lines must go up always.
 
Its amazing Starfield contributed shit all to gamepass subs if you look at a longer timeline. So they added the core to the count to show their bosses growth for this year. Next year they definely betting on cod day 1 gamepass to bring in maximum growth. Lines must go up always.
Makes sense so from here forward they have to show some type of growth I expect another major acquisition
 
Ok so the 100milion in 3 years is out of reach... the question now is: what's the goal? Realistically 50m in 2026?
Thats not what approving a business plan is like. When you make a 10 year projection and pitch, and someone funds you purely on that business plan, they are expecting results. You don't get to turn around and say 'Well, we're off by 60m but its all good cause we let you know ahead of time!".
 
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