Microsoft’s big Xbox Game Pass bet is starting to pay off

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Microsoft now has 10 million subscribers to its Xbox Game Pass service, the company confirmed during an investor call yesterday. It’s the first time Microsoft has publicly disclosed Xbox Game Pass numbers, and it’s a sign that the company’s ambitious bet on subscription gaming is starting to pay off. Microsoft has been trying to build a “Netflix for video games” for years, and it looks like it’s taking an early lead before a significant expansion to game streaming later this year.

10 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers is a significant milestone. EA’s competing subscription services, EA Access and Origin Access, hit more than 5 million subscribers last year, and Sony’s PlayStation Now subscriber base reached 1 million in October, five...

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