Game Pass continues to turn into an even bigger juggernaut than it already is as it racks up subscribers by the million.
Microsoft was very aware that it needed to up its game yet again when this new generation of consoles kicked off last year. To the layman, the PS5 and the Xbox Series X are two sides of the same coin. They don't care about the inner workings and most of the time, they will go with PlayStation as it is the more established brand. In an attempt to change that dynamic, Xbox has and continued to go all-in on Game Pass.
Xbox's dedication to Game Pass appears to be working. According to Windows Central's Jez Corden, the service is now up to 23 million active subscribers. If that number is accurate, and there's no reason to believe that it isn't, it means Game Pass has attracted five million subscribers in the space of three months.
It was officially announced in January 2021 that the service had reached 18 million subscribers. Adding five million more to that total is both impressive and feasible considering the additions that have come between then and now. Outriders hit Game Pass on release day, GTA 5 has returned after almost a year away, and even PlayStation Studios' MLB: The Show was added this week.
Xbox stated its intent when it comes to Game Pass right from the off in terms of the Series X and Series S. It did that by adding EA Play to the service for the price of admission on the new consoles' launch day. The future looks bright too. Not only will the eventual release of Halo Infinite bring in even more subscribers, but there are also rumors Ubisoft's subscription service Ubisoft+ will join EA Play on the platform later this year.
As for what PlayStation plans on doing to counteract Xbox's increasingly popular Game Pass, that still remains unclear. Jim Ryan has previously said the same sort of thing on PlayStation isn't realistic. However, it might try to lure in more people to PS Plus by adding a video pass. Details about the possible PlayStation addition were leaked this week.