Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service now has 25 million subscribers. That’s more than the 18 million Microsoft reported earlier in January last year. The unlimited Xbox Game Pass catalog of downloadable games — or the “Netflix for video games” as it’s often described — continues to attract new subscribers as Microsoft looks to expand the service.
As Microsoft’s subscriber base grows, so does the number of titles available on Xbox Game Pass. In 2021, Xbox Game Pass added iconic Bethesda games, with a total of 20 on the service, including dishonored, disaster, The Elder Scrolls, precipitation, and Wolfenstein.
Microsoft announced the milestone while also unveiling its planned $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and his 10,000 employees reporting to Phil Spencer.
The acquisition also bolsters Microsoft’s Game Pass portfolio with plans to launch Activision Blizzard games in Game Pass, which has reached another milestone of more than 25 million subscribers. With Activision Blizzard’s nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries and $3 billion franchises, this acquisition of Game Pass will create one of the most compelling and diverse lineups of game content in the industry. Upon completion, Microsoft will have 30 in-house game development studios, along with additional publishing and esports production capabilities.
Spencer said in a blog post that “we will be offering as many Activision Blizzard games as possible 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 – just to name a few – the service has plenty of options.
Microsoft has also been chasing sports fans for the past year with the addition of NBA 2K21, Madden NFL 21, NHL 21, and more. outsiders also debuted on Xbox Game Pass last year, and Microsoft has added Flight Simulator in service for the summer. Microsoft also had a big Xbox Game Pass holiday, with Age of Empires IV, Forza Horizon 5, and Halo Infinite launch of the first day of service.
Microsoft has also been working on expansions where Xbox Game Pass is available, thanks to Xbox Game Streaming. A web version of Xbox Cloud Gaming (formerly Project xCloud) was made generally available to players on iOS and PC last summer, and Microsoft began rolling out the service to Xbox consoles in November. This allows for newer games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator, to be streamed and played on older Xbox consoles as well, as the service is powered entirely by Xbox Series X hardware.