Xbox Game Pass is clearly Microsoft’s golden goose when it comes to the gaming space, but it would appear that the subscription system didn’t perform as well as they would have liked in the past year, as it’s been revealed that Game Pass missed its annual target for subscribers.
Xbox Game Pass Missed Its Target?
According to a financial document that was obtained by Axios Gaming [it’s a newsletter, but the news has been reported on by VGC and others], the number of Xbox Game Pass subscribers grew by 37.48% during the 12 months before June 30th, 2021. Unfortunately, while a near 40% increase in users is still impressive, it’s down on Microsoft’s target of a 47.79% increase. Compared to the previous year, it’s also a marked decrease, as between 2019 to 2020, subscribers grew by 85.75%. That year, Microsoft were targeting a 71% increase.
This doesn’t give us an indication of how many Game Pass subscribers there are total. Microsoft use year-on-year to measure growth instead of raw subscriber numbers for “competitive reasons”. However, it was announced in January 2021 that Game Pass managed to reach 18 million subscribers.
What Does This Mean For Game Pass?
Honestly, not a lot. It’s been a bit of a quieter year for Game Pass, aside from the launch of the Xbox Series X | S which likely drove up subscribers. With COVID, many more people were drawn to gaming and services like Game Pass, but with the world mostly coming out of lockdown, it’s natural that subscriptions would slow down somewhat. However, with big exclusives like Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite looming in the coming months, subscribers could shoot up once again.
READ MORE:Â 11 Games Coming To Xbox Game Pass By End Of October
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
