Indie Devs Defend Game Pass

gameranx.com:

The FTC appealed their case vs Microsoft, which they lost in a rapid decision from District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley. That appeal is being heard at the 9^th appeals court, and it is in these unlikeliest of situations that indie devs made their defense of Game Pass.

A group of indie devs, including Curve Digital, iam8bit, Finji, Strange Scaffold and Studio Wildcard, came together to file an amicus brief to the 9^th appeals court. Among the reasons that they share in their brief that they support Microsoft’s deal is the merits they have found in Game Pass.

As reported by Stephen Totilo, these are the key passages in the brief that specifically talked about Game Pass:

“Subscription services like Game Pass are crucial to the success of indie games. They increase the odds that players will discover indie games, and lower the cost for players to try them when they do, since players would otherwise have to buy indie games outright.

By lowering the barrier to trying new games, subscription services like Game Pass increase the odds that indie games can break through into a viable, revenue-generating level of players and viewership.

Moreover, visibility for an indie game on one platform – like appearing among the most popular games on Game Pass – frequently translated to greater visibility and awareness (and therefore more players, and more revenue) for that game on other platforms where it is available, like Steam or PlayStation.

In these ways, Game Pass is actually an important mechanism for increasing competition in gaming, because it promotes a market where indie games can achieve and increase financial viability for their current and future games, across all platforms where they appear.”

So as these devs argue, Game Pass