Take Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick made headlines recently by claiming that Xbox Game Pass had about 30 million subscribers. This happened during a Yahoo Fireside Chat with Xbox boss Phil Spencer who noted that the last publicly known figure was 18 million subscribers (which, as you might imagine, made Zelnick somewhat nervous). According to VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb on Twitter though, the 30 million subscriber count is incorrect.
“Zelnick picked a number out of the air. If it was 30 million for Game Pass, they would’ve said.” Grubb then noted that the subscriber count dropped below 23 million last quarter. “They didn’t share because they were worried it would look like they were losing subs after that number started circulating but before Jez corrected it.” This refers to a statement that Windows Central’s Jez Corden had made on Twitter about the number of subscribers being over 23 million as of April 20th. Corden would provide an update later on via Twitter (see below), noting that the 23 million figure was referring to “a different stat” and that 22 million “might be the more accurate figure.”
The current subscriber count is unknown as Microsoft hasn’t provided anything beyond the previously stated 18 million. We’ll have to wait for more details on that front so take everything with a grain of salt. Regardless, Xbox Game Pass remains arguably the best subscription service for video games. Scarlet Nexus and AI: The Somnium Files were added yesterday alongside Marvel’s Avengers. It also has big names like Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite launching day one in the coming months. Stay tuned for the official subscriber count whenever Microsoft announces it.
Zelnick picked a number out of the air. If it was 30 million for Game Pass, they would've said. https://t.co/pAzkxr82Vf
— Grubb (@JeffGrubb) September 30, 2021
It was below 23 million last quarter, but they didn't share because they were worried it would look like they were losing subs after that number started circulating but before Jez corrected it.
— Grubb (@JeffGrubb) September 30, 2021
https://twitter.com/JezCorden/status/1386068101523984384
