Subscriber count of leading cloud gaming and gaming subscription services 2023

As of March 2023, PlayStation Plus was the most popular gaming subscription service worldwide, with over 47.4 million subscribers worldwide. Second-ranked Nintendo Switch Online had 36 million global subscribers. Microsoft Game Pass has also been steadily gaining users and most recently reported 25 million subscribers. Cloud gaming and gaming subscriptions services have grown in popularity in recent years, headed by the almost obligatory use for console gamers as many experiences, such as online multiplayer, require such a subscription.

PlayStation Plus is constantly evolving

Currently, Sony’s PlayStation Plus subscription service exists as a paid-only membership service with three different tiers: Essential, Extra, and Premium. The key benefits of free monthly games, multiplayer access, discounts, and cloud storage are applied to all levels. However, the more expensive tiers also have free access to a gaming catalog of PS4 and PS5 games, as well as classic PS1 to PS3 games and cloud streaming access for select gaming titles.

According to PlayStation gamers in 2022, the main reason they subscribed to PlayStation Plus was the online multiplayer, followed by the monthly free games gifted to subscribers. In 2022, the retail value of video games offered for free to PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers amounted to over 1,300 U.S. dollars.

Xbox Game Pass has been making moves

Microsoft has been aggressively bulking up the offerings of its Xbox Game Pass. On January 18, 2022, the company announced plans to acquire gaming company Activision Blizzard and to begin integrating Activision's catalog of games into Game Pass. The acquisition has not been completed yet, as it is still under regulatory review in several countries. According to a gamer survey in the United States, it was found that the inclusion of certain Activision Blizzard gaming franchises was likely to make them subscribe to Xbox Game Pass. Particularly best-selling shooter Call of Duty was the title most likely to cause non-subscribing gamers to subscribe to the service.