- Primary Subject: Xbox Game Pass
- Key Update: Microsoft confirmed that Xbox Game Pass lost millions of subscribers after its controversial 50% price increase, prompting the company to lower prices in 2026.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: June 9, 2026
- Quick Answer: Xbox Game Pass reportedly lost millions of subscribers after Microsoft raised the price of Game Pass Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99 per month in October 2025. Following the backlash, Microsoft reduced the price to $22.99 in 2026 and removed day-one access to future Call of Duty releases, with the company now reporting renewed subscriber growth and improved retention.
Microsoft's ambitious attempt to increase Xbox Game Pass pricing appears to have resulted in one of the biggest subscriber setbacks in the service's history.
During Summer Game Fest 2026, Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball revealed that Game Pass lost "millions" of subscribers in the months following the company's controversial 50% price increase, confirming what many players had suspected ever since the changes were announced.
Why Did Microsoft Raise Game Pass Prices in the First Place?
The price hike took effect in October 2025 and saw Xbox Game Pass Ultimate jump from $19.99 per month to $29.99 per month.
According to Microsoft, the increase was meant to support a stronger Game Pass offering with more high-profile titles and extra features.
However, many subscribers immediately pushed back against the new pricing structure, arguing that the increase was simply too large to justify, regardless of what additional content was being offered.
It did not take long for the criticism to surface, as players flooded social media and community forums with announcements that they were canceling.
While public complaints often appear louder online than they are in reality, Microsoft's latest comments suggest that the negative reaction translated into a significant number of actual cancellations.
Ball's admission that Game Pass shed millions of subscribers provides the clearest indication yet that consumers were unwilling to accept such a dramatic increase in cost.
How Significant Were the Subscriber Losses?
The subscriber losses are particularly noteworthy considering the scale of the Game Pass business before the increase.
Microsoft previously reported more than 34 million subscribers, while Game Pass revenue reportedly approached $5 billion annually by mid-2025.
Despite those strong numbers, the company appears to have underestimated how sensitive subscribers would be to a 50% jump in pricing.
For many players, the issue was not necessarily the service itself but the perception that the value proposition had changed overnight.
Community discussions surrounding the situation reveal several recurring themes. Many former subscribers explained that Game Pass had previously occupied a comfortable middle ground where it was inexpensive enough to maintain even during months when they barely used it.
Once the monthly fee climbed to nearly $30, however, many players began actively evaluating whether they were receiving enough value to justify the recurring expense.
Some users reported returning to buying games individually through digital storefronts such as Steam, while others shifted toward purchasing physical games, taking advantage of sales, or simply subscribing to Game Pass only when a specific title caught their interest.
Is Subscription Fatigue Becoming a Bigger Problem?
The backlash highlights how consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive to price increases in an already crowded subscription market.
As costs continue to rise, many people are becoming increasingly selective about which recurring subscriptions they keep active.
Several community members described the Game Pass price increase as the final push they needed to cancel a service they were already using less frequently. Microsoft later walked back the change following the negative response.
Under Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, the company announced a significant reduction in Game Pass pricing during 2026.
The cost of Game Pass Ultimate was lowered from $29.99 to $22.99 per month.
Although this still remains above the service's pre-hike price, the adjustment represented a substantial retreat from Microsoft's earlier strategy and was widely viewed as an acknowledgment that the original increase had gone too far.
The lower price came with a significant compromise, as Microsoft confirmed that future Call of Duty games would no longer launch on Game Pass on day one.
Instead, new entries in the franchise are expected to arrive on the service roughly a year after release.
From Microsoft's perspective, this change appears designed to reduce the financial burden of offering some of the industry's biggest and most expensive releases through a subscription model while still preserving the overall value of Game Pass.
According to Sharma, Game Pass has started growing again after months of decline, suggesting that Microsoft's revised strategy may be having the desired effect.
Ball echoed those comments, suggesting that the lower pricing structure has been resonating with players and helping rebuild confidence in the service.
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