Xbox Game Pass Does Decrease Base Game Sales, Microsoft Says
Microsoft's pending acquision of Activision Blizzard has been under scrutiny by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, and a provisional findings report released on Feburary 8 reveals more details on how Xbox Game Pass affects sales.
According to Microsoft, base game sales do decrease after inclusion on Game Pass. «Microsoft also submitted that its internal analysis shows a [redacted]% decline in base game sales twelve months following their addition on Game Pass,» the CMA states.
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Later in the report, internal Microsoft documents also recognize that Game Pass does cannibalize direct purchases of games (called buy-to-play, or B2P in the report) sales. An exact number is unknown, as three different figures present in internal exchanges have been redacted in the CMA report.
This is different from what Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer previously said in a 2018 levelup.com interview where he claimed that Game Pass actually encourages sales of the base game.
«When you put a game like Forza Horizon 4 on Game Pass, you instantly have more players of the game, which is actually leading to more sales of the game,» Spencer said. «Some people have questioned that, but when State of Decay 2 launched, you saw if you looked in the US at the NPD you saw this game selling really well the month it launched on Game Pass.»
GameSpot has reached out Microsoft for comment.
Microsoft's comments on Game Pass are located in the report section where Microsoft argues that subscription
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