Microsoft rarely gives specific figures for its Xbox division, but Strauss Zelnik, the boss of Take-Two, would have spilled the beans on the number of Game Pass subscribers.
According to the latest figures publicly released by Microsoft, 18 million players had subscribed to the subscription service, which allowed them to play more than a hundred titles, including first-party games.
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The Game Pass would have reached a new level
During a panel discussion at The Wrap, Strauss Zelnick obviously struggled to hold his tongue, as he said Game Pass now has 30 million subscribers. However, Microsoft has never publicly released this figure. “Last time we took stock, we were around 30 million subscribers, right Phil? “, would have declared the boss of Take-Two.
As things stand, official data shows 18 million subscribers, no more. It should be kept in mind, however, that this figure dates from January and that it has certainly evolved since then. Phil Spencer, director of the Xbox division also participating in the conference, tried to catch up by indicating that these are not official figures. The CEO of Take-Two, who therefore controls the NBA 2K, GTA or even Red Dead Redemption licenses, tried to go back on his words, but it was obviously too late.
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A completely service-oriented strategy
Microsoft relies heavily on Game Pass. The firm's investments have been massive, and all communication revolves around the subscription. Microsoft's choice to focus its strategy on services rather than hardware allows the brand to turn away from the frontal opposition between Xbox Series and PS5, while being accessible from several media. With the addition of cloud gaming, Game Pass can be started on tablet, smartphone, PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. In addition, Microsoft has integrated into its catalog EA Play games as well as titles from Bethesda, the publisher having been bought for 7,5 billion dollars.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to know precisely where the Game Pass is currently. It is possible that Microsoft prefers to make this kind of announcement at another time, but it is also possible that the CEO of Take-Two was wrong. Only an official communication from Microsoft would allow to have the end of this story.
