FromSoftware’s Dark Souls trilogy aren’t available on the Game Pass. The same goes for its best-selling title, Elden Ring. But, it’s not for the lack of effort.
While the industry-leading subscription subscription service boasts a plethora of Soulsborne titles, including Lies of P, it failed to secure the First Flame that started it all.
Now, according to a leaked email by Phil Spencer, the Xbox head tried.
As Sony bookended its year with the release of Gran Turismo 7, Horizon: Forbidden West, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and God of War: Ragnarok, among others, Microsoft found itself without an answer last year. Starfield’s year-long delay meant that Xbox had to rely on the strength of third-party releases to strengthen its Game Pass offerings, which worried Spencer.
In the said email, Spencer described the situation as having left a “huge hole” in Xbox’s lineup after setting a “very high bar in 2021 on quality and pacing of content” while citing a “failure” in the Xbox’s “planning and production execution.” Although Spencer was aware that Xbox could eventually dig itself out of the said hole, he did try to suggest a potential solution.
In a reply to the head of creator experience and ecosystem at Xbox, Sarah Bond, who suggested bringing in the likes of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Gotham Knights, among others, Spencer thought of Elden Ring, which eventually won Game of the Year and sold extremely well. In his words, Xbox can “try to go get all of the Dark Souls games and make a push with From[Software] and an Elden Ring upsell.
The fact that neither the Dark Souls trilogy and Elden Ring are on the Game Pass should tell you what the answer to this question is.
But, at the very least, Spencer tried, right?
Over the years, Microsoft has tried several methods to keep up with Sony, which has held a sizable lead in market share for over a decade. Lately, the strategy seems to be offering first-party and third-party titles at launch on the Game Pass, which it claims is pivotal to its growth as a company whose failure warrants a potential exit from the gaming industry as early as 2027. But, you can’t help wonder if Microsoft might be better off parking its money in something more sustainable, like investing in first-party titles and exclusives.
We’re aware that Hi-Fi Rush and Starfield are succeeding while Forza Motorsport can easily outrace others with minimal racing sim competition when it finally comes out next month. Yet, is it enough?
PlayStation can rest on its laurels a bit with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 being the only first-party exclusive coming out for the holiday season. Microsoft can’t. Even Nintendo isn’t letting up at all with a smorgasbord of exclusive titles coming out over the next six months.
The good news is that the Activision Blizzard buyout can potentially solve this issue for Microsoft, except it can’t just rely on its latest acquisitions to carry the brand.
It’s unclear what the best course of action is for Microsoft for Xbox to grow going forward, but what it’s doing certainly isn’t working.
If nothing else, audiences should demand more from Xbox to scare PlayStation into doing even better than its record-setting pace. If that happens, everybody wins.
