Xbox Game Pass is seen as beneficial for players and developers, but its sustainability is under fire. Developers like Raphael Colantonio express concerns over long-term viability and profitability, citing high sales losses when joining the service. Larian Studios' publishing director notes that while Game Pass has benefits for small teams, its future is uncertain, especially if funding runs dry. Others have echoed this sentiment, warning that Game Pass might hurt the industry by discouraging traditional game sales and encouraging reliance on older game catalogs.
"I think Game Pass is an unsustainable model that has been increasingly damaging the industry for a decade, subsidized by Microsoft's 'infinite money,' but at some point reality has to hit," Raphael Colantonio, co-creator of Dishonored, wrote on social media.
Larian Studios' director of publishing said that "for smaller teams with new or riskier IPs it helped derisk," but questioned what would happen when Xbox could no longer afford to add more games to the service each month.
Christopher Dring, former editorial head of GamesIndustry.biz, said earlier this year that developers can lose as much as 80 percent of sales by joining Game Pass.
The developers of games like Revenge of the Savage Planet and Somerville have warned against launching on Game Pass after doing so themselves, suggesting that it's a bad deal for the entire industry.
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