Xbox Does Not Want to Replace Owning Games With Services Like Game Pass – Phil Spencer

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According to Xbox head Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s strategy with its Game Pass subscriptions doesn’t aim to push players towards abandoning ownership of their games. Instead, as expressed during his conversation with XboxEra, the focus is on demonstrating respect for the increasing number of games in players’ collections.

In simpler terms, Spencer expressed that we’ve consistently respected the importance of people’s libraries across generations by offering features like back-compatibility and Play Anywhere, and he intends to keep up this practice. He further noted that each game accessible through Game Pass can also be purchased permanently.

He stated that all the games available on Game Pass are purchasable, and they’re not forcing a single business model on everyone. Instead, he encourages players to experience the games in their preferred manner: ‘Feel free to play the games as you wish.’

To ensure we operate successfully, we’ll carefully manage our pricing and all our operations. However, I aim to provide multiple choices when it comes to the games we offer.

Spencer’s statement contrasts with a statement made by Philippe Tremblay, Ubisoft’s director of subscriptions, in January 2024. At that time, Tremblay mentioned in an interview that gamers needed to become accustomed to the idea of not owning their games as a barrier to the expansion of Ubisoft+’s subscription service.

During the same XboxEra interview, Spencer discussed Microsoft’s success in expanding its gaming business into regions such as Asia without relying heavily on console sales. Rather, he attributed this growth to the booming PC market, as well as services like Game Pass and Cloud Gaming.

Spencer stated, “Our expansion is due to the fact that we’ve adopted Windows and Cloud technologies. Interestingly, one of our most rapidly expanding regions is Asia. This isn’t because we’re selling more consoles there, but rather through cloud and PC platforms, we’re acquiring more users annually compared to any other region. The Cloud platform is the one growing at the fastest rate year after year. These are the types of players you mentioned, like that radio host. We could never reach such users with our console alone. Instead, we aim to connect with them in a way that benefits everyone, including Indiana Jones and Xbox.

Spencer additionally discussed the advantages of launching Xbox games on platforms such as PlayStation. By avoiding the 30% royalty they owe to PlayStation for each sale of a game like Sea of Thieves, the company instead concentrates on the 70% profit from these sales, which in turn are used to finance further game development at Xbox’s studios.

Spencer stated, “Perhaps I wasn’t planning to mention this at the time, but indeed, I’d be thrilled if we could earn all the revenue from the games we publish. It’s no secret that we make more on our own platform, which is part of the reason why investing in our own platform matters. However, there are individuals who prefer their libraries on PlayStation or Nintendo, who appreciate a specific controller, or simply enjoy the games available.

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2025-02-18 16:11