Circana, a market research company specializing in IT, has analyzed the sector of subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass and PS Plus in UNITED STATES.
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Subscription services such as THE Xbox Game Pass and PS Plus allow owners of consoles such as the XBox Series X/S or the PS5 to enjoy a very large catalog of games without having to pay the selling price of each title. Many new features are offered to gamers every month. In May, for example, Game Pass was enriched with FIFA 23, while in June Sony’s service recorded the arrival of NBA 2K 23. The offer is advantageous for those who play a lot and like to try all kinds of games.
Growth of video game subscription spending has stalled. According to Circana’s Games Market Dynamics reporting, April ’23 sub spending in the US was only 2% higher than April ’22. Finding new subscribers beyond the console ownership base has proven very difficult thus far.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) June 7, 2023
Times are tough for Microsoft and Sony, the two major players in subscription services. In a tweet published this week, Mat Piscatella, the director of the consultancy firm declares: “the growth of video game subscription expenses is at a standstill […] In April 2023, in the United States, they only increased by 2% compared to April 2022. Finding new subscribers beyond current console owners has proven to be very difficult.”
XBox Game Pass and PS Plus can no longer find new subscribers
Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus would have reached a plateau. Sony’s platform saw no year-over-year subscriber growth between March 2022 and March 2023. And Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, has publicly “lamented the lack of Game Pass growth.” What is the reason for this disaffection?
To read – PS Plus: changing subscriptions can cause you to lose PS4 and PS5 games
For analysts, the explanation is economic and social. The post-pandemic world and the economic crisis it is experiencing with full force have caused people to set priorities in their budget. Recurring expenses such as subscriptions are therefore the first major cuts in expenses. In 2023, gamers therefore prefer to buy a hellish game with demonic efficiency such as Diablo IV, for example, at a high price, rather than fluttering between the hundreds of titles offered by a subscription service.
