Why are people cancelling Xbox Game Pass subscriptions? Survey highlights major reason behind gamers walking away

Rising subscription costs are becoming a bigger factor in why US gamers are walking away from services such as Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Switch Online.

More than 40% of US players who recently cancelled Xbox Game Pass Essential, PlayStation Plus Essential or Nintendo Switch Online identified cost as a primary reason for their decision, according to Circana senior director and video game analyst Mat Piscatella.

The figures come from Circana’s Future of Insights for Video Games Consumer Survey, with Piscatella sharing the findings on Bluesky, according to GamesHub.

Subscription costs drive cancellations

"Cost is becoming a stronger driver of US cancellations to Xbox Game Pass Essential, PS Plus Essential and Nintendo Switch Online," Piscatella wrote on Bluesky. "Over 40% of those cancelling in the US cite cost as a primary driver, higher than seen in Q1."

The increase has been particularly noticeable for Nintendo’s subscription service. Among those who cancelled Xbox Game Pass Essential and PS Plus Essential, 40% pointed to cost, compared with 37% in the first quarter. For Nintendo Switch Online, the proportion climbed from 40% to 50%.

That difference is notable considering Nintendo Switch Online is significantly cheaper than the other two services. The subscription costs $19.99 annually, while Game Pass Essential and PS Plus Essential each cost roughly $9.99 per month.

Piscatella clarifies what data means

The latest figures should not necessarily be interpreted as evidence that a larger number of gamers are cancelling their subscriptions overall. Piscatella clarified that the data focuses on the reasons given by people who had already cancelled, rather than measuring the total number of cancellations.

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The analyst stressed that the data "has no relation to the number of people canceling" and instead shows why existing subscribers decided to leave.

Xbox has addressed pricing

The growing concern over subscription costs comes as Xbox has made changes to its Game Pass offering.

Microsoft lowered the price of its highest-tier Game Pass subscription in April but also confirmed that new Call of Duty releases would no longer be available through the service on their launch day.

At the time, Xbox acknowledged that Game Pass had "become too expensive for too many players."

Hardware prices have also risen

Subscription costs are not the only area where gamers have faced higher prices this year. Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo have all increased hardware prices, with the companies pointing to broader "market conditions." Those conditions have been widely linked to rising demand for memory components from AI data centers.

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Xbox pushes more affordable gaming

Xbox has also explored another way of making gaming more affordable. In July, the company began testing ad-supported game streaming, with advertisements appearing before each gaming session while the core gameplay experience remains unchanged. Xbox said the move was intended to “give more people more affordable ways to play.”