Xbox Game Pass has always split opinion, but a new report suggests some of its harshest critics work inside Xbox itself. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier says a number of Xbox studio leaders privately resent the subscription service, and believe it damaged the value of the games they make. Microsoft has not responded to the claim. Here is what was actually said, and the context that makes it land.
What Jason Schreier actually said
Schreier made the comments on the Triple Click podcast, which he co-hosts, and the coverage spread on July 19, 2026. In his words, “There are a lot of people out there in studio leadership within Xbox who absolutely detest Game Pass and think it has destroyed the value of their games.” He said those people also feel the service has taken value out of games generally.
Two things are worth stressing. First, this is Schreier describing the private views of people he has spoken to, so it is reporting rather than an on-record statement. Second, he named no studio and no individual. He also does not expect Game Pass to shut down. Instead he expects Xbox to move away from putting its own big games on the service on day one. Windows Central’s Jez Corden separately reported that former Xbox studio leads described the strategy as feeling like a race to zero, again without naming anyone.
Why the claim lands right now
The timing explains a lot. Game Pass has had a rough eighteen months on pricing. Microsoft raised Ultimate from 19.99 to 29.99 dollars a month in October 2025, the steepest increase in the service’s history, and renamed the cheaper tiers Essential and Premium. Then in April 2026 it reversed course and cut Ultimate to 22.99 dollars. New Microsoft Gaming chief Asha Sharma admitted the plan had become too costly and said the increase cost the company millions of subscribers.
The strongest evidence for Schreier’s point is official, though. In that same April announcement, Microsoft confirmed future Call of Duty games will no longer arrive on Game Pass on day one, landing roughly a year later instead. Xbox has also been through brutal cuts, with around 3,200 jobs going and five studios divested, including Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory and Arkane Lyon. Sharma called the business not healthy and said Xbox lost 64 cents for every dollar it put into small and mid-sized studios.
The other side of the argument
It is not a one-sided story, however. Plenty of smaller developers have described Game Pass deals as a lifeline, and Rockfish Games has said the funding let it make Everspace 2 far more ambitious than it could have managed otherwise. No named Xbox studio head has publicly disputed Schreier’s account either way, and Microsoft itself has stayed quiet so far. Our Game Pass lineup coverage tracks what actually lands on the service each month.
Still, the direction of travel is hard to ignore. VGC has reported that Xbox is pausing new third-party Game Pass deals, with some developers saying they felt rug-pulled. Taken together with the Call of Duty change, the service looks set for a quieter role than the one Microsoft once promised.
Frequently asked questions
Did Xbox studio heads really say they hate Game Pass? No one is named. Jason Schreier reported that a number of studio leaders privately hold that view, and Microsoft has not responded.
Is Game Pass shutting down? No. Schreier expects the service to continue, but with fewer big first-party games arriving on day one.
How much does Game Pass Ultimate cost now? Microsoft cut it to 22.99 dollars a month in April 2026, down from the 29.99 it charged after the October 2025 increase.
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