Xbox Game Pass Growth Slows, Stands at 33.3M Subscribers, Estimates Show

By the end of 2023, Xbox Game Pass had approximately 33.3 million subscribers, according to estimates from Omdia. This figure excludes users of Xbox Game Pass Core, which evolved from Xbox Live Gold in the fall. The growth rate for the service has decelerated, with a 13% increase in 2023 compared to a 15% rise in the previous year.

Microsoft ceased disclosing subscriber numbers for Xbox Game Pass after January 2022, when the service had 25 million users. However, in September 2023, an unofficial count suggested the number had reached 30 million, based on a resume from a company employee.

The release of the space RPG Starfield in September 2023, heavily promoted with Xbox Game Pass, was a notable event. Despite this, the service's subscriber growth has slowed. Analysts speculate that Microsoft might try to obscure this trend by merging the figures for Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Core.

In a similar vein, PlayStation Plus has also experienced a slowdown in subscriber growth, leading Sony to stop disclosing exact figures in public reports. Unlike Microsoft, Sony does not release its new games on PS Plus at launch, opting for a different content distribution strategy.