Xbox Will "Exit The Gaming Business" If Game Pass Doesn't Get Enough Subscribers

thegamer.com:

In a hearing held during the FTC v Microsoft case, Phil Spencer revealed that Xbox would leave the gaming business if Game Pass' subscriber base did not significantly increase on PC and cloud by 2027.

"I can safely say that if we do not make more progress than this off console, we would exit the gaming business," Spencer said, referencing a presentation that showed the projected growth of Game Pass on console, PC, and cloud by 2030 (as reported by Wccftech). "If this were the outcome, I don't believe we'd still be in the business."

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While Spencer claims that Xbox will exit the gaming business if Game Pass fails to gain a substantial number of subscribers on PC and cloud within the next decade, plans leaked yesterday showing both a mid-gen console refresh (a digital-only variant of the XSS) and plans for a next-generation console in 2028.

Spencer told the FTC that Microsoft needs PC and cloud to reach far higher numbers in a faster time frame. He hopes that this can be achieved by fiscal year 2027, as opposed to what has been predicted here. The slide above, as presented by FTC lawyer James Weingarten, predicts Game Pass will surpass 100 million subscribers between FY29 and FY30.

"A majority of our customers are found off of our own hardware, I would hope by earlier than 2030," Spencer said. "So, when you asked me if I agreed with this chart that the light green and blue depending on what colours you see there would have to be much larger much earlier. I would say by FY26, '27 that we should be in that position, or we'd have to make a different decision with the business."

This isn't the only information to come out of the FTC case. Yesterday, Microsoft