Microsoft Game Pass Membership Figures Update

Microsoft has revealed the latest figures for its Game Pass membership, announcing that the on-demand gaming service now boasts an impressive 34 million “fully paid” subscribers. This marks a significant increase from the last update in January 2022, with substantial growth attributed to the PC and cloud platforms. This update was shared by Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer in a recent interview with journalist Stephen Totilo for his Game File newsletter (thanks VGC), leading up to the highly anticipated Xbox ‘business update’ podcast where the company finally discussed its plans to expand its first-party games to platforms like PS5 and Switch.

In his discussion with Totilo, Spencer clarified that the 9 million additional subscribers since January 2022 were all “fully paid” and did not include promotional players. Emphasizing that these were genuine, paid subscriptions, Spencer addressed concerns about the rebranding of Xbox Live Gold members as Game Pass subscribers, reassuring that the impact of this transition was relatively minor. He also highlighted the substantial influx of new members from the PC and cloud platforms, indicating a shift in the growth of Game Pass beyond traditional consoles.

Alongside this Game Pass update, Microsoft affirmed that the subscription service will remain exclusive to Xbox platforms, seeking to dispel concerns amidst the recent news of its games becoming available on other platforms. The company also confirmed that Diablo 4 will soon be added to Game Pass, marking the first title from Activision Blizzard to join the service following Microsoft’s acquisition. Additionally, Xbox president Sarah Bond addressed fears about the future of Xbox hardware, assuring that Microsoft is actively working on a “next-generation” Xbox with groundbreaking technological advancements.