Xbox Game Pass Subscribers Count And Statistics 2026
Xbox Game Pass reached 40 million subscribers in Q1 2026, up from 37 million a year earlier, according to Icon Era’s reading of Microsoft’s FY26 Q3 earnings period. Microsoft’s last standalone confirmed count remains 34 million from February 2024. This post covers subscriber counts, the October 2025 price hike and April 2026 rollback, tier pricing, revenue, and how Game Pass compares with PlayStation Plus.
Xbox Game Pass Subscribers: Key Notes
- Xbox Game Pass subscribers hit 40 million in Q1 2026, versus 37 million in Q1 2025, per Icon Era citing the Microsoft FY26 Q3 earnings period.
- Microsoft’s last officially confirmed standalone count is 34 million, stated on Xbox Wire in February 2024.
- Game Pass annual revenue reached nearly $5 billion for the first time, per Microsoft’s Q4 FY25 earnings (12 months ended June 30, 2025).
- Game Pass Ultimate dropped from $29.99 to $22.99 per month on April 21, 2026, per Xbox Wire, after the October 2025 increase from $19.99.
- Xbox content and services revenue fell 5% year over year in the quarter ended March 31, 2026, per Microsoft’s FY26 Q3 press release.
How Many Xbox Game Pass Subscribers Are There?
Icon Era and SQ Magazine both report 40 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers for Q1 2026, tied to the Microsoft FY26 Q3 earnings period. Both outlets place Q1 2025 at 37 million.
Not every tracker treats that figure as settled. Axis Intelligence notes that post-October 2025 subscriber counts remain unconfirmed by Microsoft, and SQ Magazine’s dedicated Game Pass report states Microsoft has not confirmed a standalone count since 34 million in February 2024.
Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball publicly acknowledged at The Game Business Live on June 8, 2026 that the October 2025 price hike cost the service millions of subscribers, per Axis Intelligence.
| Date | Subscribers | Status |
|---|---|---|
| January 18, 2022 | 25 million | Confirmed by Phil Spencer, Xbox Wire |
| February 2024 | 34 million | Confirmed by Microsoft, Xbox Wire |
| Q1 2025 | 37 million | Reported by Icon Era and SQ Magazine |
| Q1 2026 | 40 million | Reported by Icon Era and SQ Magazine, tied to FY26 Q3 earnings period |
Source: Xbox Wire (January 2022, February 2024); Icon Era, May 2026; SQ Magazine, February 2026
Xbox Game Pass Subscriber Growth, 2022 to 2026
Xbox Game Pass Price Changes: The Hike and the Rollback
Microsoft raised Game Pass Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99 per month in October 2025. Subscription cancellations followed at a scale Ball later described as millions.
On April 21, 2026, Xbox Wire announced Ultimate would drop from $29.99 to $22.99 and PC Game Pass from $16.49 to $13.99, effective that day for new and existing subscribers. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who took over after Phil Spencer retired in February 2026, said on X that Ultimate had become too expensive for too many players, per Gamermarkt and Tech Insider coverage.
The cut came with a condition. Future Call of Duty titles no longer join Game Pass at launch and instead arrive during the following holiday season, roughly a year later, per the Xbox Wire announcement.
At $22.99, Ultimate still costs $3 more per month than its pre-hike $19.99 price.
| Period | Game Pass Ultimate Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Before October 2025 | $19.99/month | — |
| October 2025 | $29.99/month | +$10.00 |
| April 21, 2026 | $22.99/month | −$7.00 |
Source: Xbox Wire, April 21, 2026; Axis Intelligence, July 2026
Game Pass Ultimate Monthly Price Timeline (USD)
Xbox Game Pass Tiers and Pricing in 2026
As of July 2026, Game Pass spans four tiers, per Tech Insider’s breakdown of the Xbox Wire announcement: Essential at $9.99, Premium at $14.99, PC Game Pass at $13.99, and Ultimate at $22.99 per month.
Ultimate accounts for roughly 70% of all subscribers in Q1 2026, up from 68% earlier, per Icon Era and SQ Magazine.
| Tier | Monthly Price (July 2026) | Library |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $9.99 | 50+ games |
| PC Game Pass | $13.99 | 300+ PC games |
| Premium | $14.99 | 200+ games |
| Ultimate | $22.99 | 500+ games, cloud gaming, day-one releases |
Source: Xbox Wire, April 21, 2026; Tech Insider, July 2026
Game Pass Subscriber Mix by Tier, Q1 2026
Xbox Game Pass Revenue and Microsoft Gaming Results
Game Pass generated nearly $5 billion in annual revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, 2025, a first for the service, per Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the Q4 FY25 earnings call. Nadella also cited 500 million monthly active users across Microsoft gaming platforms and devices in the same call.
Microsoft Gaming as a whole generated $21.5 billion in FY2025, per Icon Era citing Microsoft’s SEC-filed 10-K.
The quarterly trend has weakened since. Xbox content and services revenue grew 1% year over year in FY26 Q1 (quarter ended September 30, 2025), per Microsoft’s investor relations release, then fell 5% in both FY26 Q2 and FY26 Q3, per SQ Magazine’s reading of the filings and Microsoft’s FY26 Q3 press release.
Total gaming revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 came in at $5.34 billion, down $380 million from $5.72 billion a year earlier, per Icon Era citing the Microsoft FY26 Q3 earnings report.
| Fiscal Quarter | Period End | Xbox Content and Services, YoY |
|---|---|---|
| FY26 Q1 | September 30, 2025 | +1% |
| FY26 Q2 | December 31, 2025 | −5% |
| FY26 Q3 | March 31, 2026 | −5% |
Source: Microsoft FY26 quarterly earnings releases; SQ Magazine, June 2026
Xbox Content and Services Revenue, Year-over-Year Change by Quarter
Xbox Game Pass Subscribers vs PlayStation Plus
PlayStation Plus held 47.0 million subscribers at the close of Sony’s FY2025 on March 31, 2026, per Sony’s results announced May 8, 2026. That places PS Plus ahead of Game Pass on the reported 40 million Q1 2026 figure.
The gap narrows against Microsoft’s wider footprint. Microsoft cites 500 million monthly active users across its gaming ecosystem, while PlayStation Network peaked at 132 million monthly active users in December 2025, per Sony’s Q3 FY2025 earnings. A fuller breakdown of Sony’s side sits in this PlayStation Plus subscriber report.
| Service | Subscribers | Period |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation Plus | 47.0 million | March 31, 2026 (Sony FY2025 close) |
| Xbox Game Pass | 40 million (reported) | Q1 2026 |
Source: Sony FY2025 results, May 8, 2026; Icon Era, May 2026
Cloud Gaming and Engagement on Xbox Game Pass
Xbox cloud gaming reached 1.7 billion hours streamed in 2025, up from 1.2 billion hours in 2024, per SQ Magazine and Axis Intelligence.
Microsoft’s FY26 Q3 press release period also included record monthly active users and record streaming hours, per Axis Intelligence’s summary of the April 29, 2026 release, even as overall gaming revenue fell that quarter.
On the content side, Game Pass added 85 new titles in 2025, including 28 day-one releases from Xbox Game Studios, per SQ Magazine and TechRT. Indiana Jones topped 2025 downloads on the service with over 8 million in its first six months, per SQ Magazine.
Xbox Cloud Gaming Hours Streamed, 2024 vs 2025
Source: SQ Magazine, February 2026; Axis Intelligence, July 2026
FAQs
How many Xbox Game Pass subscribers are there in 2026?
Icon Era and SQ Magazine report 40 million subscribers in Q1 2026, tied to Microsoft’s FY26 Q3 earnings period. Microsoft’s last standalone confirmed figure is 34 million from February 2024.
Why did Xbox cut the Game Pass price in April 2026?
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said Ultimate had become too expensive for too many players. The cut from $29.99 to $22.99 followed the October 2025 hike, which Matthew Ball said cost millions of subscribers.
How much revenue does Xbox Game Pass make?
Nearly $5 billion for the 12 months ended June 30, 2025, per Microsoft’s Q4 FY25 earnings. That was the first time the service reached that annual figure.
What did Reddit users say about the Game Pass price cut?
Reddit threads on r/XboxGamePass and r/xbox centered on the trade-off: Ultimate dropped to $22.99, but future Call of Duty titles now arrive about a year after launch instead of day one, per the Xbox Wire announcement.
Is Game Pass bigger than PlayStation Plus, according to Reddit comparisons?
No. Sony reported 47.0 million PlayStation Plus subscribers as of March 31, 2026, ahead of the 40 million reported for Game Pass in Q1 2026, a gap Reddit comparison threads frequently cite.
Sources
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/04/21/xbox-game-pass-update/
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/fy-2026-q3/press-release-webcast
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/fy-2026-q1/more-personal-computing-performance
https://icon-era.com/statistics/microsoft-gaming-xbox-statistics/
