Following the latest setbacks encountered by Xbox, several developers spoke in order to accuse the Game Pass of being partly responsible for the poor situation in the industry.
If you followed the news last week, then you are probably not without knowing that Xbox Currently crosses one of the darkest periods in its history. With thousands of dismissals announced, game cancellations In a mess and studios closings, the Redmond firm has indeed attracted the wrath of millions of players, and not only. Because in the industry, some personalities also did not hesitate to take a stand, like Raphael Colantonio in particular.
A former Arkane Studios castigates the Xbox Game Pass
Ex-founder of Arkane Studios now at the head of Wolfeye Studios, the one who once made herself known for his work on Dishonored et Prey did not fail to take advantage of the situation to put an increasingly recurring debate on the carpet, namely the role that the Game Pass in this unfortunate situation. “Why does no one talk about the elephant in the room?” * Cough* “ He said in particular on X by pointing to the Xbox service directly.
Because yes, the developer does not hide it: in his eyes, the Game Pass is harmful to industry. “I think that the Game Pass is an untenable model that has been increasingly harming industry for a decade, subsidized by Microsoft’s” Infinite Money “” explains Colantonio to a surfer. “But at some point, reality catches up with us. I do not think that the Game Pass can co-exist with other models. Either they will end up killing everyone, or they will abandon ” He then concluded by drawing a fatal portrait of the future with Xbox.
And he is not the only one to think so. “‘What will happen when all this money is exhausted?’ is the concern that comes most in my network, and one of the main economic reasons why my knowledge has not adopted this economic model ” explains Michael Douse, publication director at Larian Studios, for his part. “The idea of infinite money never made sense”. To which Coantonio then answers: “I agree, and I’m tired of all the bullshit they served us at the beginning, like: ‘Don’t worry, it has no impact on sales’, to admit years later that it has completely”.
A service that cannibalise sales
Because this is precisely what the two developers are trying to point the finger at this exchange: the fact that contrary to what Xbox seems to want to make believe with his speech, the Game Pass indeed leads to a “Sales cannibalization”. “The economic aspect has never been relevant” adds Douse, while still recognizing that “This has helped reduce risks for small teams with new licenses or risky projects”.
“I largely prefer the ‘Sony life cycle’ management strategy” He then concluded, dubbed by Coantonio: “Yes, the only way so that the Game Pass can exist without harming everyone is for the catalog back”. And that, the creator of Wolfeye Studios probably knows something about it since his latest project, Weird Westhas precisely benefited from an outing in the Game Pass. Given its position, we imagine that the results of this partnership with Xbox were not the most fruitful.
