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Does launching into Microsoft's subscription service create a positive snowball effect?
ID@Xbox global director Guy Richards believes one of the fundamental benefits of launching into Xbox Game Pass is that it breeds success elsewhere.
Speaking during a London Games Festival panel dubbed 'Cracking the Discovery Code,' Richards said video games that make their debut on Microsoft's subscription service become more visible on other platforms.
"One of the great benefits of launching into Game Pass on day one is the discovery that comes with it. There's millions of players that will be able to play that game from when it launches, and that can really create a viral, snowball effect moment around your launch," he said.
"It means more players talking about that game to their friends. More people may buy or play that game within the Xbox platform. But we also see that, typically, games that are launching day one into Game Pass tend to do very well on other platforms as well."
For instance, Richards claimed titles that launch on Game Pass often generate a huge number of Steam wishlists—ultimately translating into more sales on PC.
"It's not really an 'either, or' equation," he continued. "It's more a question of 'what does Game Pass bring to my launch?' Outside of the community that can get to play that game on day one, there's also a ton of marketing that Xbox does around games launching into the subscription service. That's additive to the typical marketing that Xbox would do for a game launching.
"Then to make it more worthwhile for the developers, there is the financial component, which is a discussion that we have individually with every developer to make sure that they feel great about what, financially, going into Game Pass means for them."
Microsoft is seemingly still figuring out how to ensure Game Pass remains a solid value proposition for players.
Last year, the company increased the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimateand introduced new subscription tiers to "offer more flexibility."
Yet, as reported by The Verge, newly-appointed Xbox chief Asha Sharma purportedly told staff that Xbox Game Pass has become "too expensive" in a leaked memo.
ID@Xbox global director Guy Richards believes one of the fundamental benefits of launching into Xbox Game Pass is that it breeds success elsewhere.
Speaking during a London Games Festival panel dubbed 'Cracking the Discovery Code,' Richards said video games that make their debut on Microsoft's subscription service become more visible on other platforms.
"One of the great benefits of launching into Game Pass on day one is the discovery that comes with it. There's millions of players that will be able to play that game from when it launches, and that can really create a viral, snowball effect moment around your launch," he said.
"It means more players talking about that game to their friends. More people may buy or play that game within the Xbox platform. But we also see that, typically, games that are launching day one into Game Pass tend to do very well on other platforms as well."
For instance, Richards claimed titles that launch on Game Pass often generate a huge number of Steam wishlists—ultimately translating into more sales on PC.
"It's not really an 'either, or' equation," he continued. "It's more a question of 'what does Game Pass bring to my launch?' Outside of the community that can get to play that game on day one, there's also a ton of marketing that Xbox does around games launching into the subscription service. That's additive to the typical marketing that Xbox would do for a game launching.
"Then to make it more worthwhile for the developers, there is the financial component, which is a discussion that we have individually with every developer to make sure that they feel great about what, financially, going into Game Pass means for them."
Microsoft is seemingly still figuring out how to ensure Game Pass remains a solid value proposition for players.
Last year, the company increased the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimateand introduced new subscription tiers to "offer more flexibility."
Yet, as reported by The Verge, newly-appointed Xbox chief Asha Sharma purportedly told staff that Xbox Game Pass has become "too expensive" in a leaked memo.
ID@Xbox director says Xbox Game Pass is a discovery multiplier
Does launching into Microsoft's subscription service create a positive snowball effect?
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