Jim Ryan Says Publishers "Unanimously" Hate Xbox Game Pass
It's the third day of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) case against Microsoft, and PlayStation boss Jim Ryan is taking the stand. In pre-recorded testimony, Ryan is giving evidence and taking questions from Xbox's lawyers. He's certainly not holding back either.
When the topic of subscription-based gaming is raised, Ryan says other publishers "unanimously do not like [Xbox] Game Pass." He goes on to say that this is a "very commonly held view by publishers", who find Game Pass to be "value destructive", rather than a good opportunity to get their games in more hands.
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"I talked to all publishers," says Ryan, courtesy of The Verge. "They unanimously do not like Game Pass, because it's value destructive."
In a follow-up question, Ryan also says that he doubts that Activision Blizzard boss Bobby Kotick would put Call of Duty on Game Pass if the acquisition falls apart.
Of course, we only have Ryan's word to go on right now, and he has an obvious interest in presenting Game Pass releases as a better deal for Microsoft than other publishers. However, many in the gaming community have long wondered if Game Pass' business model is sustainable. For its part, Microsoft has assured fans that it very much takes Game Pass usage of a game into account, not just its earnings - since it has also admitted that being available on the service harms sales.
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