Game subscription spending hits an all-time high in the US — does it bode well for Xbox Game Pass?

Ashley Speicher, lead software design engineer for Xbox at Microsoft Corp., speaks about the Game Pass during the company's Xbox event ahead of the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S., in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Sunday, June 10, 2018. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg.

Video game subscription spending reached an all-time high in the U.S. during May 2025. That's according to Circana executive director and analyst Mat Piscatella, who shared a thread on Wednesday via Bluesky with various details and insights in the U.S. video game market.

"US video game subscription spending reached an all-time monthly high in May 2025 ($0.6B), while experiencing its 3rd consecutive month of growth," Piscatella says. Notably, this comes at an interesting time, with the viability of subscription services like Xbox Game Pass being questioned in online chatter.

After a long stretch of no growth, game subscription spending noticeably increased in the U.S. following the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 into Xbox Game Pass in October 2024.

Looking at software for May, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware's Elden Ring Nightreign was the best-selling game of the month overall, as well as on Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam individually. It also instantly became the #11 best-selling game of the year overall.

Elden Ring Nightreign was the best-selling game of May 2025 in the U.S. (Image credit: Bandai Namco)