Majority of Xbox Game Pass Users Pay Full Price for Console Service

A significant portion of Xbox Game Pass subscribers opt for the full-price plan and utilize the service on their consoles. This information comes from a recently uncovered, heavily redacted Microsoft presentation, which was part of the latest batch of court documents released during the company's ongoing legal dispute with the Federal Trade Commission. The presentation provides insight into Microsoft's digital gaming landscape as of April 2022, indicating that out of 33.6 million Xbox console subscriptions, 21.9 million were for Game Pass, with the remaining 11.7 million being Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. Given that Microsoft announced Game Pass had 25 million subscribers just a few months prior, it's clear that over 20% of Game Pass users are console-based. Additionally, the company disclosed that the average revenue per Game Pass subscription was $9.26, just below the $9.99 price point, suggesting that most subscribers pay the full price. This represents a 14% increase over the previous quarter and a 12% increase over the previous year. In comparison, Xbox Live Gold subscriptions generated $6.10 per user. With the retirement of Xbox Live Gold imminent and its replacement by Xbox Game Pass Core, current subscribers will be transitioned to this new tier, which is expected to substantially expand Game Pass' user base. The presentation also reveals that Xbox Live had 112 million active users per quarter at the time, with 51.3 million on console and 48.7 million actively engaged in gaming. Out of these, 39.7 million were considered 'monetized users,' with 1.5 million being new, indicating that 35% of Xbox Live users spend additional money on the platform. Other notable information from the court documents includes Microsoft's plans to launch its next-generation Xbox console in 2028.