Xbox Game Pass is already profitable and generates more than 1 billion dollars invested in third-party games per year – Windows Club

In a recent Windows Central interview with Phil Spencer, an interesting piece of information emerged to get a more accurate idea of ​​the investments made by Microsoft to ensure a constant supply of third-party games within Xbox Game Pass.

According to Spencer, head of Microsoft Gaming, the agreements cost more than 1 billion dollars in one yearbut despite this they still generated greater gains, with the service proving to be not only self-sufficient, but also capable of generating profits.

“We invested a lot of money in the market, more than a billion dollars a year to support third-party games within Game Pass,” Spencer reported in the interview, thus revealing the considerable investments made to ensure that the Game Pass catalog can count on a constant supply of third-party games in addition to the originals produced by Xbox Game Studios.

“What we see with Game Pass is a service that supports all types of games, from the big ones to the lesser-known indie titles that maybe people wouldn’t think they could enjoy until they try them.” This involves expanding into different genres and production types: “If you look at things like Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, long-term investments like Grounded, all of these games have been very successful in our subscription and on this platform,” Spencer reported.

In FY22, Microsoft made $3.9 billion from subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass.

By 2030, Microsoft expects subscriptions to make nearly $8 billion.

The Activision Blizzard King acquisition will be a big part of this expected growth.

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However, for both first and third parties, it seems that the investments made in Game Pass were profitable: “We have a service that is financially sustainable, and I mean profitable, with Game Pass,” he said. Spencer stated clearly.

No precise data is provided in this case, but in fact, looking at what was previously reported for fiscal year 2022, it turned out that Microsoft got 3.9 billion dollars from subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass, with the intention to reach approximately US$8 billion per year by 2030.