When it was first unveiled, Xbox Game Pass was seen as Microsoft’s secret weapon; the key selling point for all Xbox consoles. But in the years that have followed it’s become clear that video game subscriptions in general are not the draw that many imagined – that, in fact, relatively few people want a ‘Netflix of gaming’.
Game Pass in particular has regularly missed growth targets, with even the inclusion of Call Of Duty doing little to boost subscriber numbers.
Many also believed Game Pass has done more harm than good to the health of the industry at large. Microsoft, despite previous claims to the contrary, admitted in 2023 that the service has led to less traditional game sales and last month, a couple of industry figures decried the service as an ‘unsustainable’ business model.
