Following the layoffs announced by Microsoft and they have greatly affected Xbox, Colantonio wondered in his X account If nobody was going to talk «about the elephant in the room» that for him is Game Pass. In his opinion, Game Pass is «an unsustainable model» that is increasingly damaging to the industry and that survives thanks to the large amount of money that Microsoft can put. Colantonio says that «at some point reality is imposed.»
«I don't think [Game Pass] I can coexist with the other models, or kill them all or surrender, «says Arkane Studios founder. When Douse joins the conversation he throws the question What will happen when Microsoft decides to cut the money tap. Douse adds that one of the main economic reasons why some developers have not adopted Game Pass is their business model and the possibility that «infinite money» is over. Colantonio tells him that he is «fed up with all the hoaxes» that from Xbox released by stating that a service like Game Pass would not affect sales when he does.
Douse recognizes That Game Pass can be positive for small equipment with new games or more risky proposals, since the service has the ability to minimize the risk, but that on a personal level prefers Sony's strategy when managing the life cycle of a title. Sony puts its games for sale and adds them to the PS Plus catalog years after its launch. Again, Colantonio agrees with him and adds that «the only way» that Game Pass can coexist is offering catalog games.
After launching his opinions Colantonio has received the response from several players and responded to some. He says perfectly understand that users like Game Pass model. Moreover, he says that for the consumer it is «excellent» because he gets a lot of games, including releases day onefor a low price. However, he insists that «The numbers do not fit» and that when Microsoft says that Game Pass is profitable does not count the money he has invested in acquiring companies such as Blizzard Activision (68.7 billion dollars) or Bethesda Softworks (7.5 billion dollars).
Following this reflection Christopher Dring, former Gamesindustry editor, has assured for his own sources that Game Pass is a profitable business even taking into account the investment made in games first-party.
Game Pass began as an initiative that only offered catalog games, but in 2018 it began to include the titles since the same day first-party. Sony has rejected this model several times. The last official Game Pass subscriber figure dates back to February 2024 when there were 35 million customers.
This news has been updated after Christopher Dring has corrected his information about Game Pass. Initially he said that it was profitable without including the Fast-Park spending, and now he says that his sources tell him that even taking into account that investment the business is lucrative.