Xbox Game Pass is growing year after year, but perhaps it's a bit too slow for Microsoft's liking.
As per a GameSpot report, Game Pass has earned roughly 20 million subscribers as of the month of June. In the 12 months before June 30 of this year, Xbox Game Pass' subscriber count has grown a total of 37%.
However, this is far below Microsoft's expected growth at 48%, which means that while Xbox Game Pass is growing, it's a bit slower than expected.
Microsoft announced these figures during a disclosure that also revealed executive pay. In it, it was shown that CEO Satya Nadella's pay is actually dependent on the growth of Game Pass subscriber numbers.
The 37% figure is also way lower than the subscription's previous highest growth numbers. According to VentureBeat, the service experienced a massive 86% growth during the 2020 fiscal year, which outpaced the projected 71%.
This would be the latest official figures for Xbox Game Pass from Microsoft. The first edition was released way back in January, when they said that they had 18 million subscribers.
For now, the game industry can expect a full announcement of Microsoft's earnings on October 26.
Why the Slow Growth for Xbox Game Pass?
One could assume that this slower-than-expected growth in subscriber numbers is caused by a lack of high-profile first-party exclusives beyond "Halo Infinite" and "Forza Horizon 5," as per the original VentureBeat report.
But Xbox boss Phil Spencer wants to correct that. In order to potentially compete with Sony's domination on the field of console exclusives, the company has revealed its plans to acquire even more first-party studios in the near future.
As of late, the Xbox first-party stable counts a total of 23 studios, including idSoftware ("Doom," "Quake") Mojang ("Minecraft") and legendary developer Bethesda, which was part of Microsoft's acquisition of its parent company (ZeniMax media) for $7.5 billion.
Looking Ahead To The Future
Xbox Game Pass, despite the slower-than-expected subscriber growth, is still actually winning the battle against direct competitor PlayStation Now.
Sony's own game streaming service, according to CBR, does have a lot of perks. Perhaps the biggest one is the fact that almost every big-name first-party PlayStation exclusive on it is a multi-award-winner, such as "God of War" and "The Last Of Us 2."
Furthermore, Sony's service does have a bigger library than Xbox Game Pass, or any other similar service.
But Xbox Game Pass also has a few aces up its sleeves. PSNow only offers access to PS2, PS3, and PS4 games, with PS5 titles nowhere in sight for now. Game Pass, on the other hand, allows subscribers direct access to Day One current-gen Series X and Series S exclusives.
There's also access to the EA Play Library at no extra cost, where other popular games such as the "Battlefield" series are released.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by RJ Pierce
