Game Pass Is Saving Xbox, According to Microsoft Data

August 4, 2025, 2:30pm

It may seem like Xbox can’t possibly be making any money with Game Pass, a $10 to $20 a month subscription service. It’s not that expensive; therefore, even with tons of users, it can’t be that profitable, especially when it gives players no reason to spend $70 on new games that drop on the service. However, despite all the reasons it shouldn’t, Game Pass is actually saving Xbox.

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Game Pass has been huge for gamers, but it was always seen as a huge risk for Microsoft. Xbox had to find a way to compete with Nintendo and PlayStation, and it seemed like Game Pass might only be a temporary fix.

Instead, it’s been a boon. The company’s earnings report from last week shows that Xbox Game Pass passed the $5 billion in annual revenue for the first time. It also revealed that the service was up double-digits year-over-year when Xbox expected nothing of the sort. Gaming revenue was up 10% for the quarter ending on July 30th, which is a huge step forward for Xbox.

Xbox content and services revenue is more specifically up 13% year-over-year. First-party games have played a big role, but they specifically noted Xbox Game Pass as a major component of the swell. Hardware revenue is down 22% year-over-year, unfortunately. It doesn’t help that PC has access to Game Pass, too.

Anecdotally, this isn’t much of a surprise. There are so many games I’ve played solely because they’re on Game Pass, and that absolutely includes new games. I’d have missed out on a lot without the service, including Hollow Knight, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Fallout 4, Stardew Valley, Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas, and so many others.

When the Fallout TV series was popular, I badly wanted to play some of the Fallout games, but I didn’t own any of them. Game Pass was there to save the day, as I could quickly download and play Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Fallout 4. The interest has since died down as the show gets further away, so it was good that I didn’t have to spend over $50 to get them all.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was a real return to form for what was admittedly a lackluster, dying franchise. It has had good Zombies maps, strong multiplayer, and a delightful campaign, all things I’d know nothing about if it hadn’t been on Game Pass. The franchise might be losing some of the goodwill by putting out Black Ops 7 one year later, but that’s another one I wouldn’t pick up without Game Pass.

It’s also a really good way to pick up older games I missed. Game Pass gives me and other gamers access to so many Xbox 360-era titles or Xbox One games that have come and gone, like Fable II, Dragon Age: Origins, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Mass Effect 2, and many more. Some of those games would ordinarily be difficult to come by.

It’s also an excellent home to franchises, allowing gamers to play through a series. It may not be in its entirety, but there are plenty of series that at least have a few of the games, making it much easier to play through them. This includes Fallout, DOOM, Grand Theft Auto, Assassin’s Creed, Battlefield, Crysis, Dead Space, Halo, Star Wars, and The Elder Scrolls.

Games are expensive nowadays. People are less inclined to pay $70 outright for a new game like DOOM: The Dark Ages earlier this year. They’re happy, however, to pay up to $20 a month to get access to it on day one, as well as so many other titles, and those months add up. It seems like it couldn’t possibly be profitable, but in fact, it’s saving Xbox. An Xbox remains cheaper than a PC, and it comes with a cheap subscription that will give you access to a ton of games, so it’s no wonder it’s finally beginning to turn things around.

[H/T Windows Central]