Recent estimates have put Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers at over 35 million, but it comes with a big catch. Since launching in July 2017, eight years ago, the service has gradually replaced the old Xbox Live Gold system that helped to make the Xbox ecosystem what it was. Now, in a different media landscape than what came before, Xbox Game Pass offers a reasonably priced way for gamers on multiple platforms to keep up with a huge swathe of the newest releases and back catalog titles.
However, things are not as rosy with the service as Microsoft might want. For a long time, rumors were swirling about Game Pass’ profitability, but despite some insider sources stating otherwise, there are still plenty of questions surrounding the service’s long-term viability. Most notably, one of the biggest concerns is about Game Pass’ stagnant user growth, which could be hitting a wall because of one key habit that many gamers don’t want to give up.
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If Xbox Game Pass Is a Good Deal, Why Isn’t It More Successful?
By all rights, Xbox Game Pass is a pretty good deal. With three simple tiers of membership and a PC equivalent, it gives a lot of people an easy way into the gaming ecosystem. Game Pass’ most popular tier, Ultimate, is $19.99 and has almost 500 games in its back catalog, with new games added every month, including new releases.
PC players get an even better deal at $11.99 a month for almost the same catalog, making it a fairly affordable way to keep up with lots of popular games, including many first-party Xbox games available day one.
But despite all of these benefits, Game Pass subscriber growth has hit a wall, with the service seeing significant plateauing in the last few years. Years ago, Microsoft would publish regular updates on Game Pass subscriber numbers, but that stopped after the service slowed, and now the true numbers are obscured by Microsoft. There could be many reasons why this is, including cost-of-living making subscription services unattractive, or a lack of enthusiasm for the games on offer, but arguably the biggest reason has to do with the attitude of many gamers toward game ownership.
Game Ownership Is Xbox Game Pass’ Most Significant Wall in the Way of Growth
There are several reasons why many people prefer to own games. While a video game subscription service can offer a very tempting deal to regular gamers, owning games outright removes the fear of them being taken away in the future, as can happen on game streaming platforms. Game streaming is also less pick-up-and-play, as Game Pass games need to be installed just the same, so it isn’t like the service offers an extra level of convenience.
Finally, not owning games outright can cause issues with modding on PC, as well as precluding some players from playing with friends on different platforms. It isn’t like there is an easy way to mitigate this attitude toward game ownership for Microsoft either, as Game Pass cannot grant users permanent licenses to its content.
This all stands in stark contrast to other media. Whereas subscription services for things such as film and music are incredibly successful, services like Game Pass have not gained the same level of traction. While physical media is still somewhat popular, there is a different perception of game ownership than film ownership, for example.
Hundreds of millions of people will pay to stream this other media instead of owning it, with Netflix boasting over 300 million subscribers this May, almost ten times as many as Game Pass is alleged to have. Additionally, despite many films and TV shows leaving Netflix all the time, many streaming platforms have a huge library of content to keep users subscribed.
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Steam Sales Are Driving Game Ownership, and This Could Hurt Game Pass in an Unusual Way
One of the holy grails of PC game ownership has been Steam’s ability to offer incredibly aggressive discounts on thousands of games all throughout the year. Steam’s market dominance has been in part due to its ability to offer such deals, and this has undoubtedly kept many gamers on the platform.
Even the Epic Game Store’s free games have not been able to take users away from Steam, and third-party games exclusive to the launcher, such as Alan Wake 2, have often struggled to find profitability due to this. As PC gaming has grown in popularity over the decades, it's platforms like Steam that have made playing even recent games much more affordable, with the added benefit that even if they leave the store, they won’t leave a user’s library.
Steam’s success could actually be a bit of a problem for Game Pass in this regard, as Xbox’s future seems to be one based on Windows 11. Xbox executives have acknowledged that third-party storefronts like Steam will be available as part of this move.
This could leave Microsoft in an awkward place once again, as it now has a highly popular storefront competing not only with the Microsoft Store but also Game Pass. This doesn't only apply to Xbox, though, as Epic’s landmark lawsuit against Apple has raised plenty of questions about gaming monopolies, which could even lead to companies such as Sony having to allow third-party storefronts on the PlayStation.
The Increasing Cost of Games Puts the Ball Back in Game Pass’ Court
It isn’t all doom and gloom for Game Pass as, despite the stagnant growth, recent talk about game prices could help move gamers toward subscription services. Nintendo’s announcement that Mario Kart World would be $80 caused a lot of controversy, but that was only the beginning. With talk that GTA 6 could cost $100 or more, more AAA publishers have been eyeing higher prices.
Games have become staggeringly expensive to produce, often taking half a decade or longer to develop, so it is understandable why many large operators in the industry want to charge more. Funny enough, this could actually help Game Pass, as people looking to play new AAA games upon release might find it easier to subscribe for a month of Game Pass to avoid the high cost of ownership.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft's flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you can play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.
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