Xbox made the decision to increase the price of Game Pass Ultimate in 2025, which led to strong backlash from fans. So many subscribers reportedly tried to cancel their memberships at the time that the official Xbox subscription cancellation page crashed. On October 1, 2025, the Ultimate tier increased by 50%, rising from $19.99 to $29.99 per month. Now, Xbox has shared new details that give a better idea of how much impact the price increase had on the company.
According to Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball, the service lost “millions of subscribers” shortly after the new pricing went into effect. Although Ball did not share exact figures, his comments show that the price increase had a major effect on the service. The loss of millions of subscribers is one reason why new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma made changes to Game Pass shortly after taking over.
After losing millions of subscribers and facing heavy criticism from players, Xbox lowered the subscription price in April to try to win back users. However, Game Pass still costs more than it did before the 2025 price increase. One of the major changes introduced alongside the lower price was the removal of day-one Call of Duty releases from Game Pass. New entries in the franchise are no longer included on the service at launch. Despite this, Ball said the changes introduced by Sharma are “resonating” with players, suggesting that Game Pass may be beginning to recover after the losses caused by the price increase.
Under the new leadership of Sharma, Xbox has been going through a lot of changes, and the coming years are looking exciting for the brand. The company has decided to once again focus on exclusives. Xbox has also introduced new community features, including the Player Voice website, where players can share feedback, suggestions, and feature requests. In addition, Sharma has said that it wants Xbox to become the “number one gaming and entertainment company” by 2030.
