Private Division head Michael Worosz said that Microsoft will have to prove continued Xbox Game Pass growth to keep doing acquisitions of middle-sized studios as they did in 2018.
If the developer is large and its creating a single player focused game I whole heartedly agree.
if though the developer is smaller, and is creating a multiplayer focused game then Game Pass is the perfect place to drop their game. The more players able to play the game means far fewer people loading up the game only to take minutes trying to find a game they can join.
For Microsoft to have any type of success with this current price structure (10$ a month) They're going to need a minimum of 10 million subscribers every month. They have to pay to make games, pay 3rd party royalties and pay for the infrastructure that runs the entire thing... I'm not sure how long the leash is before they pull the plug, but I'm sure if they don't have that 10 millions plus subscribers every month by 2020 they'll shut the entire thing down...
Microsoft doesn't have that discipline, I'm sorry... They're the type of company that follows where the wind blows and if after a couple of years, Gamepass is deep in the red, theyll drop it like everything else they've dropped (windows phone etc) They've pumped billions into windows phones and they dropped that at the drop of a hat. What makes you think Gamepass is that special?
I'm just hypothetically speaking. If they're able to get those subscribers in the 10 plus millions than everything will be great for them.
Netflix actually doesn't pull in profit as a company. It spends so much money on content it has yet to turn a profit from it's services. I work in TV and this is a widely known fact. There's entire articles about this online.
Skippy you have no clue how business works.. Video games make more money than Movies & Music combined.. Microsoft has streaming coming eventually aswell, Microsoft are in this for the long hall, probably around 10 years is my guess before they look for big profits. As someone else said, have a read about Netflix..
Microsoft doesn't have that discipline in their DNA. There's no way in hell shareholders are going to stand 10 years in the red for Gamepass. 10 millions subscribers a month, is only 100 millions dollars a month for their 1st party games, 3rd party licenses and infrastructure. I doubt Gamepass has even 1 million subscribers a month now (I'm talking about people paying 10$, not those 1$ promo etc). They're a long ways away from that 10 millions a month.
Microsoft does have the discipline they wouldn't be buying studios and pushing Gamepass if they wasn't in it for the long run.. Streaming could make 10 million subscribers seem tiny. They know what they are doing. Why are Google, amazon and others spending so much on getting into a game subscription service...
@Skippy: I’ve got to agree with them. You clearly know nothing about business.
You do realize their game division is made up of more than Game Pass, correct? Microsoft was paying for first party, licensing, and infrastructure long before Game Pass. The infrastructure itself has long been documented to be there in the form of Azure.
I’m thinking the only undisciplined one right now may be you. Quick to talk about what you clearly don’t know about and extremely one sided.
Maybe, but you're on the same page that they need 10 plus million subscribers to make it work? If not how many do they need? Last year and this year is a wash with all those promos they have. When the promos stop will it be able to stand on its own?
It's not just subs that they're looking at. That's just one part of the picture.
Look for them to continue to cycle 3rd party games out to keep the library changing. It's not about making GP the only way to deliver content. It's about driving subs and keeping you, the consumer, active on the platform.
They will "lose" money on GP but be completely content. We laugh about them using MAUs instead of sales, but that's really what it's all about. Get a customer into the ecosystem, keep them in, and watch them buy additional content the longer they're in. If you get guaranteed revenue while they're there, all the better.
Same as PS+'s game library. Active users = $$$. The good deals get you in the door, and hopefully you stick around and buy your big new releases and DLCs while you're here.
It will take a lot of subs to really make money. But the real goal is active player retention.
It'll be around for a while. MS will make an effort to make it work. If it does, then they'll keep it. If it doesn't, they'll adjust to see if they can make it work. If it still doesn't work, then maybe MS proper will shut it down. Likely it'll find a place. It may not be the same as we see it today, but it'll exist in some way for quite a while.
We don't know but I don't think they need 10 million subs a month to keep it a float. 1.2 billion dollars a year? That's probably the targeted goal but they'd be fine with half that. It's the best value in gaming yes it will stand on its own.
Just think of how many games there's on Gamepass.. Over 200 games, now how much are they paying to licens per game each month? 500k plus, maybe a million plus for the big titles. 500k X 200 games = 100 millions a month. It's not an exact science since we're speculating, but I'm sure we can both agree Microsoft needs 10 plus million subscribers sooner rather than later.
I'd assume half of that would be enough to prove growth to allow them to keep doing acquisitions. Probably even a quarter. I think some people assume it has a lot more paying subscribers now than it probably does.
You mean like Sony Shutdown GT5 online with more then 5 million active users so they could sell more GT6, or how they close GT6 online so they could sell more GT Sports. There are more chances Sony shutting down PS Now then MS ever shutting down GP.
Not sure what you mean by "they saw you coming". If you do the math, that $180 that he's spending on a subscription that's guaranteed until 2021 has a lot more value than 3 games for $59.99 at retail price. Sounds more like he saw them coming and got a great deal. By the way, right now Game Pass has Halo Masterchief Collection, HALO 5, Shadow of the Tomb Raider,
Next time a deal like that happens can you eBay a few codes? (Assuming it was Amazon’s deal) Here in Australia our Amazon doesn’t stock GamePass subscriptions & the government literally stopped us from buying off the U.S store. So please...
They need to make pass more like gold and less like a monthly pay service. I like just paying a one time fee for a year. Don't like money being taken out of my account each month.
I did that and you know what MS did without telling me? They turned on my auto auto renewal after I redeemed the code. I only found out afterward I was charged. I then turned it off again. Be careful. Always check that.
Yeah agreed, playstation imo should do like £75 ps plus deal with psnow included. Keep the £50 ps plus price still obviously for those who don't. Xbox the same with game pass. One payment is far more convenient. I'm gonna go ps plus and ps now nxt gen and pc wise go with Google project and get game pass for pc once or twice a month in a year for there hopefully awesome new sp ips with good stories. Got all bases covered for a reletivelly low price point
I’ve heard several rumors that they have already added a few more studios to the mix and one of them is a pretty popular studio. I’d bet they announce at least 4 new studios at e 3 this year. Pretty impressive considering the high quality talent they have already acquired.
Hope it works out
All they do will close all the new studios after one game, if even that.
Sales and/or Game Pass really, not just GP exclusively.
As a consumer game pass sounds great. As a developer participating in capitalism.... game pass seems very offputting.
For Microsoft to have any type of success with this current price structure (10$ a month) They're going to need a minimum of 10 million subscribers every month. They have to pay to make games, pay 3rd party royalties and pay for the infrastructure that runs the entire thing... I'm not sure how long the leash is before they pull the plug, but I'm sure if they don't have that 10 millions plus subscribers every month by 2020 they'll shut the entire thing down...