Xbox Game Pass is here to stay – so deal with it

techradar.com:

Xbox Game Pass is the best deal in gaming. You’ve probably heard that statement ad nauseam by now but it’s honestly worth repeating. No other service offers anything close to the sheer value that Microsoft’s gaming extravaganza provides, and its success is fundamentally why Sony is reportedly preparing its own answer to Game Pass.

Yet some corners of the gaming community still aren’t convinced. The most common criticism that's leveled at Microsoft’s service – which has amassed over 25 million subscribers – is that it’s “bad for developers”. After all, if you’re paying a monthly subscription fee to play a rotating selection of the hottest games available, why would you ever need to spend another penny again? 

It’s this type of rhetoric that many believe results in Xbox Game Pass being a hindrance to developers, rather than a means to help them make money and build audiences. But that’s categorically untrue. It turns out that Game Pass is good for developers and good for gamers as a whole.

During a GDC 2022 presentation called Game Pass: Maximising Your Game's Total Value, Microsoft revealed that Xbox Game Pass subscribers spend 60% more on games, 45% more on add-ons, and 45% more on consumables than those who don’t subscribe. Subscribers also tend to play 40% more games than non-subscribers, often discovering new genres that they previously may have overlooked.

This, as you might expect, results in gamers either purchasing games that aren’t on Xbox Game Pass already or picking up titles that they’re currently enjoying at a discounted price. Every title on Microsoft’s service comes with a 20% discount and DLC is also discounted by 10% – it means you can own every title on Xbox Game Pass if you really desire, albeit digitally.