Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service grows to 25 million subscribers

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service now has 25 million subscribers. That’s up from the 18 million Microsoft previously reported in January last year. The Xbox Game Pass all-you-can-eat catalog of downloadable games — or the “Netflix for video games” as it’s often described — continues to attract new subscribers as Microsoft looks to extend the service.

As Microsoft’s subscriber numbers grow, so does the amount of titles available on Xbox Game Pass. In 2021, Xbox Game Pass added iconic Bethesda games, with 20 in total on the service, including Dishonored, Doom, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Wolfenstein.

Microsoft announced the milestone while revealing its planned $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which will have Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and its 10,000 employees reporting to Phil Spencer.

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The acquisition also bolsters Microsoft’s Game Pass portfolio with plans to launch Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone of over 25 million subscribers. With Activision Blizzard’s nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries and three billion-dollar franchises, this acquisition will make Game Pass one of the most compelling and diverse lineups of gaming content in the industry. Upon close, Microsoft will have 30 internal game development studios, along with additional publishing and esports production capabilities.

Spencer said in a blog post that “we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard’s incredible catalog.” There are no specifics, but with the Warcraft, Call of Duty, Diablo, and Candy Crush brands to choose from — to name a few — the service will have a lot of options.

Microsoft has also been chasing sports fans over the past year with the addition of NBA 2K21, Madden NFL 21, NHL 21, and more. Outriders also debuted on Xbox Game Pass last year, and Microsoft added Flight Simulator to the service over the summer. Microsoft also had a big Xbox Game Pass holiday, with Age of Empires IV, Forza Horizon 5, and Halo Infinite launching day one on the service.

Microsoft has also been working on extending where Xbox Game Pass is available, thanks to Xbox Game Streaming. A web version of Xbox Cloud Gaming (formerly Project xCloud) was made widely available to players on iOS and PC last summer, and Microsoft started rolling the service out to Xbox consoles in November. This will allow newer games, like Microsoft Flight Simulator, to be streamed and played on older Xbox consoles too, as the service is fully powered by Xbox Series X hardware.