How Developers Perceive Xbox Game Pass Subscriptions

Services Xbox Game Pass a PC Game Pass they are undoubtedly great for consumers. Microsoft offers all its games in them on the day of release and expands the catalog with interesting larger and smaller titles from other studios and publishers. But how do developers perceive subscriptions?

Finji has tried Game Pass with titles Tunic a Night in the Woods. Its CEO Bekah Saltsman si he thinksthat subscriptions are awesome and scary at the same time, because it can turn out positively, but also negatively. At the same time, he worries about the future, so that small creators have enough money to develop more games. In other words; for Microsoft to pay accordingly.

The Finnish studio Frozenbyte, which creates Trine series, he sees pluses of Game Pass in option reach a larger number of players. But on the other hand contributes to content overload and it can be hard for players to fall in love with a game and enjoy it because the subscription brings a lot of choice.

Dino Patti, co-founder of Jumpship, shares a similar view. The studio released a sci-fi adventure game for Xbox and PC last year Somerville, which was available in Game Pass right from the start. According to Patti, they made a pretty good deal with Microsoft, but Game Pass took a toll on Somerville’s sales.

“A lot of people try the game and don’t invest in it,” he claims Patti, saying that players who play the game thanks to the subscription must usually occupy the first 10 minutes. If those first minutes aren’t amazing, the player turns off the game and goes to try another one. Still, he thinks Game Pass is great, but personally prefers the old model.

Developers actually say what Microsoft itself. The company confirmed significant negative effect on sales, which are in Game Pass. In documents for the British Competition and Markets Authority, even Microsoft and Activision Blizzard stated that Game Pass is seriously cannibalizing game sales.

We’ve heard various concerns but also praise from many developers, such as on opportunity to experiment more. Some of them see the positives in subscriptions some time after the release of a game that doesn’t sell that much anymore. It has been proven time and time again that free and subscription games can boost sales of older titles.