While it’s not exactly the Netflix for games that we initially thought it would be, there’s no denying the success of Xbox Game Pass. With every Xbox first-party title coming to the service on day-one, it’s a great deal for players. It’s been successful for Microsoft as well, with the service earning a cool $5 billion this year, despite massive layoffs and studio closures.
While Game Pass looks to be an all-round success, there has always been some confusion about the revenue split between the platform and developers. Recently we learnt that it is still profitable when taking into account first-party game development costs. However, research conducted by industry analytics firm Newzoo suggests that it hasn’t really changed how we play games, and that it may even be cannibalizing triple-A game sales.
Game Pass May Be Eating Into Triple-A Game Sales
Speaking on the Game Wise podcast (via Clawsome Gamer), Newzoo Director of Market Intelligence Emmanuel “Manu” Rosier revealed that the firm’s research found no difference in the way Game Pass subscribers engage with games as compared to PlayStation players. Xbox players aren’t necessarily playing more games or gaming more than those on PlayStation.
“Something we’ve noticed, and we were a bit surprised. Despite all the efforts done by Microsoft with Game Pass – the acquisition of many studios, and the release of very high-quality games in Game Pass, we struggled to find significant, different behavior compared to players on PlayStation,” said Rosier. “So we were a bit surprised that there was not like a visible ‘Game Pass effect’ on the behavior of players.”
He explained that the study only counted games that were played for over two hours to eliminate demos and other trials. This revealed that while Game Pass Players are playing a lot of games, they’re not sticking with them for too long. It looks like players are sampling what the service is offering, but not always committing to one game.
The downside of this, Rosier explained, is that triple-A games may end up suffering. “What we see clearly is a cannibalization of the sales of triple-A, premium games on Xbox through Game Pass,” he said. He used Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as an example, as it sold fewer copies on Xbox than in previous years.
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Five, with Friends & Family (in limited countries)
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1 Primary Account Holder
