Subscription spending has been flat since 2021, analyst says subs are not the future of gaming

Spending on subscriptions remains relatively stable but doesn't show signs of large growth in the United States despite Call of Duty's Game Pass uptick.

Subscription spending has been flat since 2021, analyst says subs are not the future of gaming
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TL;DR: US video game subscription spending has remained flat since 2021, with a temporary 12% boost from Call of Duty’s Game Pass launch. Analysts suggest subscriptions have reached saturation in the US, with manufacturers shifting focus away from aggressive growth. Nintendo’s Switch Online may drive future subscription increases.

Despite an increase from Call of Duty's launch on Game Pass, spending on video game subscriptions has been relatively stable yet flat throughout the last few years, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella says.

Subscription spending has been flat since 2021, analyst says subs are not the future of gaming 458
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Game subscriptions aren't expected to replace full game sales any time soon--in fact, trends show that subscription hasn't really grown since a spike in the holiday season when Call of Duty was launched on Game Pass.

"US spending on video game subscriptions had been basically flat for years following 2020-21 growth, only boosted by 12% in Q4 thanks to CoD going to Game Pass," Piscatella said on Bluesky.

"Subscriptions are certainly not THE future of gaming (although they can continue to be part of it)."

Note: Game Pass was at 34 million as of 2024, and PS Plus could be higher. These are the last known figures reported by each company.
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Note: Game Pass was at 34 million as of 2024, and PS Plus could be higher. These are the last known figures reported by each company.

When asked if subscriptions have reached a saturation point, and if so, is this earlier than expected, Piscatella responded:

"That's what the US data is suggesting, at least so far. Can't say it's the same in other territories. And sure, probably on the 2nd point. I mean, we are seeing manufacturers shift focus a bit away from pushing subs."

Both Sony and Microsoft have stopped reporting subscription numbers, with Microsoft's last update affirming Game Pass had over 34 million subscribers at the time.

Subscription counts will change over time, often fluctuating based on the content offerings. In the past, we were able to determine how many of PlayStation's total monthly active users are actually subscribed to PlayStation Plus and infer the overall health of the service.

Nintendo, on the other hand, could spark subscription growth with Switch Online, which aims to be an integral part of the Switch 2's core functionality.