Report: Games on Game Pass Lose Up to 80% of Expected Sales on Xbox
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Many Xbox titles find success in terms of player engagement, with Game Pass offering a vast library for subscribers to explore. However, while these games might be popular with players, they don’t sell as well as games outside the subscription service, leading to concerns about how this affects developers.
Christopher Dring, former director of GamesIndustry, talked about this issue during a Q&A session, sharing data that shows how Xbox Game Pass affects the sales of games in its catalog.
Xbox Game Pass Significantly Affects Game Sales
“Anecdotally, games that are in Game Pass can expect to lose around 80% of its expected premium sales on Xbox. That’s the figure that gets thrown around,” Dring said, based on his access to gaming data from the UK and Europe.
He added that the effect is less pronounced for major mainstream releases but still noticeable. “Look at how low Hellblade 2 charted. Or where Indiana Jones came. Or even Starfield. Game Pass clearly hurt sales of those titles on Xbox,” Dring remarked. “Game Pass clearly hurt sales of those titles on Xbox, but if it’s a game on multiple platforms, it can be beneficial. That surge in players on one Xbox can have a strong impact on sales on PlayStation, for instance.”
Microsoft has previously stated that Game Pass is profitable, however, this subscription model is quite different from how games have traditionally been sold.
He further said, “I am actually torn on subscription. I believe it can lead to lost revenue, and services like this make it harder for everyone else. Try being an indie game on Xbox right now that’s not on Game Pass.”
Dring also acknowledged the benefits of Game Pass in an increasingly competitive gaming landscape. “But also, getting people to play your game in 2024/2025 is so, so, so hard. And subscription gets games in front of lots of people. We know from data that there are a lot of people that only play Call of Duty. And if some of those people decided to get Call of Duty this year via Game Pass, and those very same people took the opportunity to play some other Game Pass games, games they wouldn’t have otherwise played… it’s hard to argue that’s a bad thing..”
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Game Pass helps more people discover games, or does it make things harder for developers? Let us know in the comments below!
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