Game Pass is a profitable business that earned $5 billion last year, Xbox president reiterates

Xbox president Sarah Bond reiterates that the Game Pass model is profitable, sustainable, and beneficial for game developers.

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About a week before Microsoft chose to increase Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $30 per month, executive management was reminding Japanese games publication Game Watch about the service's recent milestones. Xbox's president, Sarah Bond, says that Game Pass continues to be profitable.

When asked by Game Watch if Xbox was a viable business, Bond answered: "Last fiscal year, Xbox Game Pass sales reached a record high of $5 billion. It's a profitable business, and as more creators join Xbox Game Pass, payments to creators increase, so we think it's a good business for creators."

Technically, we already knew this info, but cogent data points from executive management are rare.

In July, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that Game Pass had reached nearly $5 billion revenue in FY25. Analyst firm Ampere Analysis predicts that Microsoft will one-up this record with $5.5 billion made from Game Pass throughout 2025.

It's worth noting that Game Pass made up 21% of Xbox's total-year revenues of $23.5 billion.

There have been negative comments around Xbox Game Pass, with some criticizing the service's so-called "cannibalization" of game sales. Some developers have spoken out, saying that Game Pass could harm indies in the long run, and ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden saying that the service may not be healthy for game developers.

One of the more interesting things about Microsoft's new Game Pass rebrand is the tagline "this is how we play now" that's shown at the end. This seems to be indicative of Microsoft's main drive to centralize its games business around the Game Pass subscription service, which has transformed the habits of core Xbox gamers.

The new restructuring shows that Microsoft is now shifting gears and trying to maximize these Game Pass profits.

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