‘I Much Prefer PS Plus’ Lifecycle Management Strategy’: Devs Weigh in on Xbox Game Pass Impact

by

This week, Microsoft let go of more than 9,000 workers, with the Xbox division experiencing a significant impact. Several game projects were terminated, one studio was shut down, and an unfortunate number of individuals are now unemployed as a result.

After the recent turmoil, I’ve noticed everyone seeking clarification. As per a piece in The Seattle Times, it appears the colossal tech entity worth a trillion dollars is aiming to streamline its finances, with an intention to boost its investments in Artificial Intelligence.

The company based in Redmond has made significant investments in Sam Altman’s OpenAI, which in turn has led them to aggressively market their Copilot product to customers.

However, former Arkane Studios founder Raphael Colantonio suggests that when considering Xbox, there might be an alternative suspect to hold accountable.

He indirectly mentioned the elephant in the discussion – Game Pass – since it seems everyone is avoiding the topic, as suggested by his tweet.

This sparked an engaging discussion on social media platforms, as some prominent developers publicly expressed their views about Microsoft’s innovative approach to doing business.

Asked to expand on his thoughts, Colantonio said:

In my opinion, the Game Pass model, which has been supported by Microsoft’s seemingly limitless resources for a decade, is not sustainable and has been harmful to the game industry. I fear that this trend can’t continue forever, as it will eventually collide with reality. I don’t believe that Game Pass can peacefully coexist with other business models; either it will drive all competitors out of business, or it may have to withdraw itself.

In response to Colantonio’s post, Michael Douse from Larian Studios expressed that the concept of infinite money had always been unclear, and Raphael agreed with him.

I concur, and I’ve grown tired of the misleading information we were initially given such as “There’s no need to worry, it won’t affect sales,” which was proven false over time. Needless to say, it’s not a surprising revelation that it does indeed have an impact.

It’s important to mention here that Colantonio’s game, The Weird West, developed by his fresh studio WolfEye, was added to Game Pass in 2022. Therefore, he likely has a clear understanding of the advantages and disadvantages associated with this particular business model.

In the end, both Douse and Colantonio concurred that Sony’s strategy of offering subscriptions and releasing games later in their life cycle is a more robust approach.

Douse said:

Although the financial aspects didn’t align with my understanding, I acknowledge that this approach benefited smaller teams working on innovative or high-risk intellectual properties by reducing risk. I find Sony’s ‘lifecycle management‘ strategy more appealing instead.

Previously, Sony’s former CEO, Jim Ryan, faced severe criticism for opposing the Game Pass subscription service model. Some individuals predicted that the success of the PS5 might be compromised if the PlayStation Plus service didn’t initially offer first-party games at launch.

At the time, he said:

Previously, we’ve discussed this topic – it’s unlikely that we’ll opt for a subscription model for our new release titles. The reason being, these games require enormous investments, typically exceeding $100 million in production costs. From our perspective, such a model doesn’t seem financially viable.

Indeed, there’s a bigger picture unfolding, yet it’s captivating to observe the economic aspects of Game Pass being clarified, following years of vague references about it by Microsoft and the broader media.

This week, a French analyst revealed that fewer than 5% of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered were sold on Xbox systems in Europe. This suggests a decline in Microsoft’s market share in Europe, but also hints at the potential impact of Game Pass on traditional full-price video game sales.

It’s evident that we don’t yet have sufficient information to determine whether this business model influences Xbox’s profits positively or negatively. However, it seems that Sony’s cautious approach towards subscriptions is yielding favorable results over time, suggesting that their decision might have been a wise one in the end.

Read More

2025-07-06 21:36