Microsoft very rarely discloses just how much it has spent on its gaming endeavors such as Game Pass, which is why the tech giant’s most recent statement comes as a huge surprise.
According to Microsoft’s Chris Charla, it has spent “hundreds of millions of dollars” to pay developers and publishers for licensing rights for the Game Pass since the company launched the service back in 2017. Charla added that “There are amazing games out today on Xbox (and other platforms!) that would never have existed without the support of Game Pass members.”
Interestingly, the figures aren’t as high as expected considering the Game Pass’ robust library. Not to mention, David Gibson, a senior analyst who works at MST financial, recently estimated that Square Enix would have received up to $10 million for its underrated superhero mash-up game, last year’s Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Surely, some games like Mass Effect: Legendary Edition and Hitman Trilogy, as well as Resident Evil Village, among other third-party titles, must have cost more. After all, Square Enix once referred to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy as a disappointment.
Furthermore, the disclosure of a figure of “hundreds of millions of dollars” is far from exact and it doesn’t answer if the Game Pass is profitable. Going back to what Gibson said, Game Pass has low economics, which doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand. It’s also telling of how Xbox Game Studios head, Phil Spencer, has refused to reveal how sustainable the Game Pass really is for Microsoft and how long it can keep going at its current rate where it routinely releases first-party titles on the Game Pass after spending hundreds of millions on development.
Spencer’s stance and statements about the Game Pass are in stark contrast to what Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan revealed in a 2020 interview with GamesIndustry.biz. In it, Ryan shared that the company doesn’t see releasing first-party games on a subscription service as sustainable.
Of course, times have changed and the Game Pass’ unprecedented success since last year might have forced Ryan to reconsider his former stance. But, if not, we’re curious to find out what Sony will do to keep up with the Game Pass.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that Sony is set to reveal Project Spartacus soon, which was then somewhat corroborated by trusted industry insider Greg Miller. Spartacus is a multi-tier subscription service that some describe as Sony’s answer to the Game Pass as it will combine both PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now with a “premium” tier that will bring classic PlayStation titles to the PS4 and the PS5.
Without Sony’s biggest first-party games on day one, Sony is banking heavily on two things: an extensive cache of older but still-exclusive games and possibly a lower price point.
Only time will tell if these two are enough for Sony’s offerings to keep up with the steadily increasing growth of the Game Pass subscriber base.
