Xbox Game Pass subscribers leap by 50% in five months
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Buried in yesterday's megaton news Microsoft is buying Bethesda and Zenimax for $7.5bn was an eye-opening statistic on Xbox Game Pass subscription growth.
As of this month, Xbox Game Pass now has 15 million subscribers, up from the 10 million figure Microsoft announced in April. That's a 50 per cent increase in just five months.
Obviously, this year has been an attractive one for sitting at home and burying yourself in a library of games. But Microsoft has also improved its Game Pass catalogue, and marketed it as a core part of the Xbox console offering.
Over the past couple of months, the service has gained heavy hitters such as Red Dead Redemption, Resident Evil 7 and Destiny 2.
Streaming option xCloud has also been wrapped into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
This month, in the lead up to the launch of Xbox Series S and X, Microsoft dropped the news EA Play (formerly EA Access) would also become part of its subscription.
And of course, yesterday's big Bethesda and Zenimax news is a huge boon for Xbox Game Pass too.
"This deal isn't about limiting the number of people who can play Bethesda games - it's about expanding it," Eurogamer editor Oli wrote in response to yesterday's news. "At a small, monthly cost."