Subscriptions are plateauing

Game Pass is reportedly down to about 30 million paying subscribers, against an internal projection of ~77 million by 2026 revealed in FTC proceedings, after a price hike to $29.99 a month in October 2025 drove churn; Microsoft rolled Ultimate back to $22.99 on 26 April 2026. Sony has stopped reporting PS Plus subscriber counts. From November 2026 Xbox meters cloud streaming rather than bundling it: 15 hours a month on Ultimate, 10 on Premium, 5 on Essential, with extra hours sold separately. Microsoft puts the affected share at 4% of subscribers. Within a week of the cloud cap Microsoft began offering lapsed and some current Ultimate subscribers 12-month discounts reported at $16 to $20 a month against list, a segmented win-back test rather than a price change. Price is now the stated reason: Circana's tracking, reported in September 2026, puts more than 40% of US cancellations of Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Switch Online down to cost. That is the share of reasons given by people who cancelled, not evidence that more of them are cancelling.

• ReportingMicrosoft's Game Pass performance is far below expectations
• DataSubscriptions are the only growing segment, but barely, inside a market down 21%
• ReportingMore than 40% of people cancelling Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions blame rising costs