Subscription services have become a mainstay in the modern media industry with television and movie streaming services like Netflix and Hulu becoming household names and many other networks like HBO and Paramount looking to jump in on the trend. The gaming industry has been no exception with some of gaming's biggest juggernauts like Sony and Ubisoft launching their own services providing fans with a library of games to experience for a monthly fee. Likely the most well-known of these services would be Xbox Game Pass, which recently passed a huge milestone for subscribers.

Since its launch in June 2017, Xbox Game Pass has grown into one of the biggest and most recognizable subscription services in the gaming industry. The monthly subscription features a wide library of games across both Xbox and PC with many new games coming to Xbox Game Pass as soon as their release dates. With the service's frequent sales and expansive roster of titles enticing gamers into signing up, Xbox Game Pass has grown exponentially in the nearly five years since its inception and has now officially passed a major landmark with 25 million subscribers.

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Microsoft revealed the massive milestone for Xbox Game Pass alongside Tuesday's monumental announcement of Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard. This comes following a year that saw the Microsoft add several Bethesda titles to the service including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. The subscriber count for Xbox Game Pass saw a massive rise throughout 2021 as the service grew by nearly 7 million subscribers, more than a quarter of its total, over the course of the year.

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The Xbox Game Pass milestone marks a major achievement from one of the biggest names in the gaming industry, coinciding with an acquisition that will likely see Microsoft's position in the world of gaming grow even more. The purchase of Activision Blizzard now puts iconic franchises like Warcraft and Call of Duty under the Microsoft umbrella with Microsoft reportedly already planning to make some new Activision Blizzard games exclusive to Xbox.

Xbox Game Pass has become one of the premiere options for many gamers looking to expand their library of games. The monthly subscription fee alleviates the often pricey cost of buying full new games and the service is frequently updated with new games ranging from indie games to big-budget AAA games arriving to Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft also frequently discounts the service for new subscribers allowing players to test out the service for as little as $1 for the first month and including promotional free trials with other premium services like Discord Nitro. Game Pass has grown substantially over its first half-decade and the Activision Blizzard merger should look to bolster the service further.

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Source: The Verge