Microsoft Game Pass figures fall short of targets
Firm misses projection by 45%, Spencer confirms that service makes up 15% of gaming revenues
Subscriber numbers for Microsoft's Game Pass have failed to reach growth targets laid out by the firm for the second year in a row.
As per a new filing spotted by Axios, the company set a 73% growth rate for the subscription service for the fiscal year 2022 ended June 30, but only saw an increase of 28%.
The targets also served as a performance incentive for CEO Saya Nadella's pay, as well as other executives at the firm.
While Microsoft doesn't share specific figures for Game Pass users, the filing shared that its Xbox division reached "over "25 million subscriptions."
In 2021, the company aimed for 48% growth for Game Pass and fell short of that, hitting 37% for the year.
Speaking at WSJ Tech Live this week, Xbox boss Phil Spencer shared that Game Pass is profitable for the firm, and accounts for around 15% of Microsoft's gaming revenues.
Spencer also shared that while PC Game Pass has seen growth, the console service has approached the limit of users it can reach.
"We’re seeing incredible growth on PC," Spencer said. "On console, I’ve seen growth slow down, mainly because at some point you’ve reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe."
In its quarterly financials this week, Microsoft posted a 3% decline in its Xbox content and services revenue, but said that the drop was "partially offset by growth in Xbox Game Pass subscriptions."