Xbox Game Pass lost millions after 50% price hike

Xbox's chief strategy officer, Matthew Ball, said the service shed "millions of subscribers" when Game Pass prices rose 50% last fall. He made the comment in an interview at Summer Game Fest with The Game Business' Chris Dring, and Geoff Keighley reposted the quote on June 8, 2026.

Last October, Xbox raised the price of its Game Pass Ultimate plan by 50% and reworked its cheaper Game Pass tiers. The change came a little more than a year after a prior price increase in 2024.

Xbox's new CEO, Asha Sharma, cut the price this past April — though not back to 2025 levels — and announced that future Call of Duty games would no longer launch into the service. Developing…

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