Xbox Game Pass Report Says Premium Games on the Service Can Lose 80% of Sales

For years now, there has been some debate on the impact Xbox Game Pass has on software sales. Xbox has put all of its eggs in the Game Pass basket, allowing subscribers to access all of the company’s first-party games for one fee each month. That has clearly had an impact on the actual sales of these games, though it’s difficult to say by how much. In a new Q&A from InstallBase, industry analyst Christopher Dring touched on that impact, while also addressing the future of video game subscription services. Dring noted that sales of the company’s “premium” games have taken a huge hit as a result.

“Anecdotally, games that are in Game Pass can expect to lose around 80% of its expected premium sales on Xbox. That’s the figure that gets thrown around. It’s less if it’s a big mainstream release, but generally… look at how low Hellblade 2 charted. Or where Indiana Jones came. Or even Starfield. Game Pass clearly hurt sales of those titles on Xbox,” writes Dring.

While that sounds like a pretty negative answer, Dring went on to say that the actual impact on sales can vary. A game getting attention because of Xbox Game Pass can have a positive impact on that title’s sales on PS5. Those who subscribe to Game Pass for bigger titles like Call of Duty could also end up trying a smaller game that they wouldn’t have otherwise. In Dring’s own words, “subscription gets games in front of lots of people.”

As Xbox continues to embrace multiplatform releases for its first-party games, it will be interesting to see what kind of impact Xbox Game Pass has. While Indiana Jones and the Great Circle sales might have taken a hit thanks to the game’s presence on the service, the positive word of mouth generated by subscribers could bring a big boost when it drops on PS5 later this year. In that regard, sacrificing sales on one platform could benefit another. Whether that trade-off proves worth it is difficult to say, however.

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Dring closed out his response by talking about the future of game subscription services. While everything seems to have a subscription service these days, Dring seems hesitant to believe that they will play a major role in the video game industry’s future. The reality is, free-to-play games have taken up a huge chunk of the spending money of gamers. While Xbox Game Pass could continue to find success, it’s unlikely we’ll see a huge influx of similar subscription services from companies.

“In a world where the biggest games are free, and hundreds of hours long, the idea that the majority of gamers will be accessing their games via a subs service seems fanciful,” said Dring.

Are you surprised by the impact that Game Pass has on software sales? Do you buy fewer games as a result? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

[H/T: Video Games Chronicle]