Former Microsoft Senior PR Manager - Game Pass And Activision Are To Blame For Studio Closures

Post

“There are two reasons why all those Bethesda studios closed, and neither of them have anything to do with Bethesda (directly)... Game Pass and Activision. The biggest paradox with Game Pass is that basically every game that launches on the service badly misses its sales goals. Makes sense though, why pay full price to buy a game when you can play it for "free" as part of your subscription? This is accounted for somewhat by attributing portions of revenue to top-performing Game Pass games every month, but there are factors working against games. Namely, the fact that most games don't stay at the top of the chart for more than a month or two, and also that Game Pass growth has stagnated. So games like Hi-Fi Rush, which is incredible mind you, gets a very small bump in revenue from being the hot Game Pass game for a month, then it falls off a cliff when everyone moves onto the next thing. Poor Redfall had it even worse since it launched so rough, it never had a chance. This system was fine for a while when Game Pass was growing like gangbusters, but now it's slowed way down and the amount of revenue it's attributing to games isn't keeping up with the budgets to make them. But, all that wouldn't have mattered even 3 or 4 years ago because back then Xbox was basically a rounding error on Microsoft's books. The division made some money, but more importantly, it didn't cost that much and other parts of the business easily covered the gap. Then Xbox went on a buying spree and spent a lot of money on Bethesda, but orders of magnitude more on Activision. Now, the Eye of Sauron has turned, and Xbox is expected to start making that $70B back, or at least cut expenses to the bone (and then some) while they try. That brings us back to Game Pass. So far, the big bets on driving new subscriptions (Redfall, Starfield) haven't spurred near enough growth, and there's not much on the horizon that is likely to restart the momentum. The best bet is COD, but do you really risk the guaranteed sales revenue that franchise brings by putting it on Game Pass on Day 1 and potentially lose massive sales? I don't know what the plans are, but either you put it on Game Pass and lose money, or you don't and the subscribers revolt because they think that's what they signed up for. COD will be fine though, as will the other mega-studios with huge IPs, but you're seeing the impact; all those smaller studios making really interesting games are going to fall away, simply because as good as games like Hi-Fi Rush are, they're never going to make enough money to make up that $70B hole that Xbox now has to dig itself out of.”

But Phil said Game Pass increased game sales 🤔🤔🤔

Put COD on gamepass.

Increase cost of gamepass

please provide a link where Phil Spencer said Game Pass increases the sales for all games.. i must have missed that one..

on topic, that Linkedin post (lol) does pose an interesting question: Will Call of Duty launch Day One in Game Pass?..

i guess we'll likely find out during the June showcase next month..

If the new Call of Duty hits Game Pass day one that would be awesome but if it doesn’t then, oh well. It wouldn’t really bother me to be honest.

Right here...

you mean the quote from 2018 when Game Pass debuted only a year earlier and only had a few million subscribers?.. i think that logic shifts when you go from 5 million subs to 30+ million..

and even then, where does he say "all games"?.. he specifically pointed to two example of Forza Horizon 4 and State of Decay 2 which both sold well at launch despite being in Game Pass..

You asked where he said it. You're free to accept it or not.

Also, Ghost's comment never said all games, that's your addition.

oh snap!!!!!

@Antwan3K: Do you think the goal of Game Pass is to get gamers to Microsoft's storefronts?

What do you believe is/are the goal(s) of Game Pass?

I asked for where he said "all games".. you didn't provide a link to that..

and well, if that's the case, then Phil was correct for those specific games..

Scrambling

Opinion pieces are as valuable as OP's typical takes on gaming.😂

Lol why are you one of the few in denial? Everybody saw this coming and told you it would happen with the exception of a few delusional Xbox apologist.

TC has really gone into overdrive with posting opinions from Twitter users (and now Linkedin)..

i guess System Wars cows aren't doing a good enough job with "Xbox is doomed" opinions that they need to outsource..

What am I denying again?🤭

I take full credit for TC pushing his narrative super hard.😁

That it's some false narrative. GP was bad for anything outside of low budget indies. With GP games don't sell and we all knew that.

@Antwan3K: try not to get dizzy with all that spinning.

As a service and value for money, GP is awesome. I stand by that. But I'm starting to question if it's going to be good for the industry long term. This is eye opening.

Ah yes, Former Microsoft Senior PR Manager, aka “some Twitter user on Linkedin ” 🤣😂🤣😂

i wasn't replying to you, you proceeded to provid a link to something i didn't ask for, doubled-down and backpedaled, and now resorting to "b bu but you're spinning"..

sure buddy.. 👍 you can make your usual exit of the thread now..

i guess you admit that the current PlayStation model is unsustainable, correct?..

i mean that's the opinion of the Former Head of PlayStation..

The reach and cope is incredible lol. I suppose the former Senior PR manager at MS is a "twitter user" by definition.

The acquistion cheerleading was a sign of the depth of some of the faith of these fanboys. For you guys' sake, I hope you at least had some shares you got to cash in on. Tell Tango Gameworks that they should be proud that they created value for the shareholders while you are at it.

Where did I mention anything about what you just described?🤔

Did you not dismiss the OP's post?

You have all kinds of MS employees current and former commenting on the current dire state of Xbox since the latest cuts and now they're being dismissed as "random Twitter users". Oh brother. Devs who were hyping up GP as being good for their business are now deleting their posts. The astroturfing is dissolving before our eyes.

The ABK and Bethesda purchases have turned out to be the worst thing that ever happened to the Xbox brand, as they currently have more scrutiny than ever from MS to make that money back. They can't do that with the Game Pass money pit. Instead of something that was supposed to boost Xbox into the top console dog, it's become a massive anchor to the brand. Something people were saying for years, and it went unheeded.

They have already shed 5 devs since this went down with more to come. What's the point of this purchase now if Xbox is just going to be the new ABK that happens to sell a couple of hot Bethesda and MGS properties for all platforms?

You stated I am denial about something, so please point or quote where I am denying the "something"?🤭

It's to create value for the execs and shareholders. Be sure to thank Tango for creating so much value for shareholders!

@BenjaminBanklin: Hopefully unionizing Activision is making progress

I was a bit skeptical of gamepass from the start. It's an incredible value, but its hurting MS then things needs to change. If its hurting sales, they definitely need to re assess, and move away from day and date. They should move away some what but not entirely from gamepass. People should still see the value in gamepass, but also understand that some games won't be on it until a later date. This way, you ensure the gamepass model is sustainable long term. Not just cod but also starfield. That was a blunder...that game should never have been on gamepass.

When people pay for a game, they have more of an investment in it. When you provide it for free...they are less engaged. Its a paradox, but I think big games with big budgets should still be pay to play at least to start.

@blaznwiipspman1: Those are the selling points though. After Xbox fans have railed on PS Plus, are they going to be happy when they pre-purchased 3 years stacked of Ultimate for $1 and then Phil comes out and says

"Thanks to all of you for coming along on this great experiment but the landscape is changing and we are finding new ways to bring value to all Game Pass subscribers. There will be no more day one releases but we will offer 2 hour trials on all new first party games and they will be playable 2 weeks before the release so we can get some beta testing done."

You mean the guy who said, "I talked To All The Publishers, And They Unanimously Do Not Like Game Pass Because It Is Value Destructive, Not Only On An Individual Title-Basis, But Also On An Industry Level"

is that also the guy that said the current PlayStation model is unsustainable?.. if so, yes.. and that said, i suppose you agree?..

If by PlayStation model you mean spending many millions on R&D and production of VR and halfassed handheld hardware they aren’t gonna support, 9-figure budgeted single player movie games with no additional revenue streams and flirting with putting big budget games on a subscription service, then yes I agree. That model is unsustainable

So you acknowledge GP is bad for developers and is a major factor in why these studios closed?

gotcha.. so, "Xbox is doomed" and "PlayStation is doomed".. glad that's been established..

i guess there's nothing left to do now except enjoy video games..

Well they had to pay Kotick 400 million dollars so the money had to come from somewhere.

@girlusocrazy: yes...there's a lot if cheapass xbox gamers and this was the fault of uncle Phil for setting such high expectations. Now he needs to slap these gamers and tell them to pay up, or if he's not able to do that, he will be fired and the next ceo will do what he can't.

Lems are slowly waking up. Built For Gamepass Shovelware exists for a reason. No sane company will or can invest into titles knowing there's no return at best, and lots of money lost at worse (Halo Infinite and Starfield)

I have never seen him being rolled harder. HOLY SHIT!

The goal of any subscription service is active subscriptions. They're wagering that the amount of people who continue paying for a monthly subscription service who would have otherwise bought one or two Xbox games a year outweighs the amount of subscribers who would buy multiple titles that collectively cost more than the subscription cost.

They're limiting the profit ceiling on their whales but raising the floor on their lowest spending customers (who make up a larger percentage of their overall customer base).

It's risky when games cost so much to make, but nearly every company's pivoted to a subscription service in some form over the last 5 or so years; it's clear they believe that's where the money is.

TLDR: the goal of Game Pass is money. And the answer for why any company does anything is always: money.

Please point the something that I was denying.🤭

@Antwan3K: Is that what you would say?

lol yet you're the guy who tried to argue with me that MS would put COD on Gamepass day n date exposing that fact that you have ZERO business sense and are a completely delusional fanboy of the highest level.

I told you MANY times Gamepass was the reason behind the incomplete, indie level "AAA" games MS been putting out the last few years and that MS was also LOSING money putting games on GP day and date.

Yet you were screaming MS was making money and actually thought MS would put COD on GP next. Like, do you even use your brian? LMFAO

PlayStation has a much easier pivot. Xbox would have to go back on everything they‘ve been pushing (and you’ve been gullibly buying into) for the past 7 years.

2 Sku solution = L

Game Pass = L

ABK Aquisition = L that’s tearing down the successful studios

Now we have day and date COD on Game Pass in question (🤭) and more games going to PlayStation to cover losses. And you’re STILL here defending all these decisions…

Find the moment where I argue with you or anyone about COD on Gamepass.😂 I will wait.

Seems like your "brian" is short circuiting.🤭