Xbox Game Pass has been an incredible success for Microsoft since its launch a few years back. Its growth hasn't been explosive, however, but it has been consistent. 2021 may have been the banner year Xbox has strived for, too. After reporting an exciting 18 million subscribers earlier this year, E3 2021 seems to have marked a shift. An insider is now reporting that Xbox Game Pass has climbed to between 25 and 30 million subscribers since Xbox's last official report.
The report comes from Jez Corden of Windows Central, who recently spoke on the subject as part of the Xbox Two Podcast. Corden says that he's "heard" that Xbox Game Pass subscription numbers have climbed to between 25 and 30 million. When questioned on the matter by his co-host, who says the number has to be above 20, at the very least, Corden counters. He says that the number is closer to 30 than it is to 20.
Since Corden doesn't provide any details about his source, it's unclear if this updated Xbox Game Pass subscriber count is reliable or not. Without further confirmation or corroborating evidence, it's likely best to look at Corden's reported total as a rumor.
With that said, Corden's number does come at an interesting time. A recent podcast featuring Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick and Xbox boss Phil Spencer featured a similar number. Zelnick, in a complimentary and teasing way, said Xbox Game Pass subscribers were up around 30 million. After Spencer corrected him, saying the last official number shared publically was 18 million, Zelnick said subscribers were much higher than that now.
After Game ZXC reported on Zelnick's comments to Spencer, an Xbox spokesperson offered up an official statement on the subject. That statement repeated Spencer's response, as well as the official announcement from Xbox earlier this year. It said, "Xbox Game Pass has more than 18 million members as of January 2021." In other words, Xbox has not provided any official statement on Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers since earlier this year and isn't willing to provide updated numbers in response to recent rumors and speculation.
If the rumor is true, that means Xbox Game Pass has gained at least 7 million subscribers between January and now, or at most 13 million. That's an increase of around 40-70% in nine months, versus the four years it took to climb to 18 million in the first place. Between January and now, Xbox has wrapped up the acquisition of Bethesda, had an exceptional E3 2021, and has launched Xbox Game Pass for Cloud, plus there's the continued success of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles. That's an impressive stretch, regardless of the actual Xbox Game Pass subscription numbers.