Xbox top exec Matthew Ball on ‘problem’ company faced for hiking Xbox Game Pass prices: ‘We shed millions of…’

Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball has revealed that Microsoft lost millions of Xbox Game Pass subscribers after raising the subscription service's price by 50% in 2025. He described the move as a significant setback for the company. Speaking at The Game Business Live event, Ball said the jump from $20 to $30 per month for Game Pass, announced in October 2025, led to a sharp decline in subscribers in the following months.“We shed millions of subscribers over the span of a few months” following the price increase, Ball said. The comments provide one of the clearest indications yet of how consumers responded to the price hike. Microsoft does not publicly disclose current Game Pass subscriber numbers, making it difficult to determine how many users left the service or whether they later returned.Ball said Microsoft later adjusted its strategy by reducing the price of Game Pass Ultimate to $23 per month. This was a decision he described as one of the first major moves under Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. According to Ball, the company also responded to user feedback by ending its practice of adding new Call of Duty titles directly to the Game Pass library at launch. Microsoft believes those changes helped improve the service's value proposition despite the higher price compared to previous years.“At $23/month, Game Pass Ultimate is still more expensive than it was this time last year,” Ball said, adding that “the value has changed.”Microsoft last shared official Game Pass subscriber figures in 2024, when it said the service had 34 million members. That figure included Xbox Live Gold accounts that had been converted into Game Pass Core, a tier now known as Game Pass Essential.During his appearance, Ball also discussed broader challenges facing the Xbox business and brand. He said Xbox had struggled under the previous leadership of Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond, while Sharma has pledged to reset the business and rebuild momentum.Part of that strategy includes a renewed emphasis on console-exclusive titles. At the recent Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft announced that Gears of War: E-Day, scheduled for release in October 2026, would launch as an Xbox console exclusive. The company also confirmed that Clockwork Revolution, which is expected to launch in 2027, would be exclusive to Xbox consoles.Ball said Microsoft intends to maintain a steady pipeline of console-exclusive games, though some Xbox fans have argued that the company's messaging around exclusives remains unclear.Beyond software, Microsoft continues to invest in gaming hardware. Despite increasing component costs, the company is moving forward with plans for its next-generation Xbox console, currently known as Project Helix.