Xbox Game Pass 'quadrupled' Descenders sales says developer Mike Ross

Xbox Game Pass is a monthly subscription service that gives you immediate access to over 100 games for $10 a month. You can even bundle Xbox Game Pass for Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass for PC, and Xbox Live Gold together with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $15 a month.

[yarbie1000]

because no one had ever heard of it

[DaDrunkenJester]

Yep GamePass is great for indies and for those that cant afford some of the bigger AAA games.

[Nasdac]

Rephrase : GamePass is Great for Indies, Third Party Games and for those who cant afford some mediocre or worst exclusive AAA games.

Halo is not the same after Bungie
Gears is not the same after Epic
And Forza is Forza, that's good but yearly unnecessary.

[DJStotty]

@Nasdac

So Metro Exodus, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil are mediocre?

Not including Monster Hunter World, Black Desert Online?

Bad AAA exclusives or not, they dont cost a penny

[Obscure_Observer]

I knew this GOOD news would trigger some people.

[Unspoken]

That's a bingo!

Haters don't even care which indie dev does and doesn't make it, as long as it's not on Xbox, am I right?

[Kumakai]

exactly. and thats why subscription services are good for smaller devs. more exposure. ppl like to tout doom and gloom but most of the ppl i talk to say its actually great for them.

[lxeasy]

Goes to show show you how amazing Xbox GamePass is. I literally got into Monster Hunter because of GamePass. And now I am buying the new expansion. This would have never happened if it weren't for GamePass.

[coolbeans]

You just--accidentally--gave one of the biggest endorsements for Game Pass and its benefits for indies.

[Rude-ro]

How does it boost sales when you are playing it for a monthly fee in a shared pool?
And let’s say it’s due to players that opted into the pass.. played said game then bought it...
Then that is basically a monthly fee for a demo... of which, demos work. Has since the beginning of time.

Why hide it behind a “game pass”?
Developers would be rewarded more for releasing demos on a platform that helps boost recognition vs commercialism and pay walls.

But that is just consumer friendly..,so I get why a company would not do so.

[CaptainCook]

"Hw does it boost sales when you are playing it for a monthly fee in a shared pool? "

You'll get 20% off games and 10% off DCs when your subscribed to Xbox Game Pass.

[Rude-ro]

And? That is less money than just releasing a demo for players to get a taste. No?

[DiRtY]

@Rude-Ro

I think the developers know what they are doing -.-

[DJStotty]

@Rude-ro

The developers get a nice cheque for having their game on gamepass.

Also some games that players otherwise would not have played, get played and then bought.

You get a discount on the games when they are leaving gamepass if you want to keep them.

Think if it as a "timed" release of the game, where it is available to play for free for a short window.

[spicelicka]

Because demos aren't better promotional tools than Gamepass, you barely even see them advertised, and when they are it's just one tile in the marketplace section saying "demo available".

As the developer says, on Gamepass there is so much more exposure because when Gamepass itself is advertised its games vicariously get promoted, it has its own page on the dashboard, and people spend a lot of time scrolling through Gamepass lists.

I don't know exactly how it works either but a developer saying is really good assuming it's genuine.

[DaDrunkenJester]

For one, GamePass you get the entire game with achievements unlike a demo. And the thing about GamePass is I doubt anyone signed up just for descenders. They likely signed up for others games, found descenders, had a great time going through the game, and once their GP sub was ending they just bought the game with a %20 discount. They likely bought other games with that discount as well. Depending on how many games they tried out on the pass and bought afterwards, the $10 they spent on GP was probably a wash anyway with the 20% discounts.

Its not the first game that has said GP helped sales. Likely wont be the last. It's a great service for small indie devs to get noticed on.

[Rude-ro]

For one, the article says “quadrupled sales”... game pass is not sales. It is a shared pool.
If they are referring to people buying the game for getting to try it., you are describing a paid for demo that brought awareness to the games existence. A glorified demo.

So, the title is very misleading... or it is contradicting itself with said paid demo page hidden as a “service”.

How demos are presented are under full control on consoles.

So, being the misleading title... it is pr fluff... nothing less. Even from said developers. The article itself is promoting the game for a paid service with said quote.

Money and power does not care about being honest.

[Grown Folks Talk]

You can BUY the game through Game Pass. So people play it via the subscription THEN choose to buy it to own forever. It's not hard.

[DJStotty]

@rude-ro

A demo, is a small "portion", this could be a level, a timed trial.

Not a full game with achievements and DLC.

Hope this helped you out in your analogy of gamepass.

[Kribwalker]

For one, the dev says it’s free advertising having it on gamepass so that helps. 2nd, some people, myself included, enjoy the game so much, they’ll buy it with the discount so they can keep it, even after it leaves gamepass

[Kumakai]

if you have gamepass you can buy games for discounted gamepass pricing. its not "hiding" it. the games are also available in the microsoft store but gamepass essentially turns the entire library of games into risk free trials. see a game, download and play it risk free. if you love it, you can buy it to keep forever for a discounted price.

i love how ppl hate on gamepass and they don't even know the details. thats fanboyism.

[DJStotty]

Exactly,

I have been with gamepass for months now, i am yet to buy a game. I just complete it before it leaves the service.

The service has also exposed me to games i never even thought of playing, be it golf, Grid, graveyard keeper (addictive) and plenty of others.

Installed 63, ready to install 138

well worth the money

[rainslacker]

"Why hide it behind a “game pass”?"

While I agree with the notion of "demo's work", Game pass isn't really a demo service. It's a full access to a game service. Demo's are typically short sections of the game for one to try out, and may not always give a long enough representation of the game to entice people to buy. Demo's can be costly to make sometimes, and nowadays, releasing the demo's on console cost money for compliance licensing, which is why there aren't as many of them.

"Hiding" these games behind game pass gives the developer/publisher money to have the full game on there. In turn, that can give exposure to the game.

Further, there is the psychological aspect that the consumer can see more value in a game on a service like game pass, as opposed to just stumbling across the demo on the store, or hearing about it through media/word of mouth.

[DillyDilly]

If people like a game they buy it. Especially knowing sooner or later any game can get rotated out (no difference than Netflix etc) so yes this can help Indie games

[TK-66]

You've literally written a paragraph trying to spin this into a negative. XGP managed to improve sales of a game and you can't just be content with that can you?

[GtPawnSacrifices]

An game shows up on your store for $20
(Publishers take their cut, let’s say half for simplicity, leaving the Devs with $10 per game sold)
Via GamePass MS will either give the Devs 1 lump sum of cash for a lease.
Or will pay an agreed amount per download.

[Italiano1234567]

Yeah ok 😂😂😂

[King_Noctis]

What’s funny is some people on this site (including you) seem to think they know more than the devs even when the devs THEMSELVES clearly stated how Gamepass has helped with their sales.

[Atom666]

But he used emojis...

[SamPao]

They talked about the advertisment, because the game is on the pass it gets featured on the dashboard all the time.

[DaDrunkenJester]

Yep, for instance I have never heard of Supermarket Shriek, but I was scrolling through the newly added games, saw it, thought it would be fun to play with the kids and sure enough they ended up liking it. When it's on GamePass there is no downside to trying out a bunch of games you wouldn't have bought normally.

[SamPao]

yeah the accessibility is one thing, but here its specifically talking about customers that dont even have the pass, because why else would anyone even buy the game if its on the gp.
If they show the games constantly on the dashboard, its basicly just them advertising the games. Not necessarily the gp, but the games themselfs.

[DaDrunkenJester]

That's true, but you can say that is another benefit of having your game on GP... overall exposure to those ON GP and those who are just browsing. Regardless it's additional advertising and getting your game in front of people.

[rainslacker]

I think the idea shows that having a good rotation of these games outside of game pass, like on the store front, or on the dash board if they're still doing tiles there, goes a long way for exposure. There is less to wade through on Game Pass though, but the downside for the consumer is that there is less choice as well.(Not a statement of negativity towards GP).

That notion is one thing that is a problem on places like Apple's or Googles mobile store fronts. They limit what is shown front and center to highlighted games they pick, or games publishers pay to be there. When they get highlighted, they get more sales, otherwise they get lost in the deluge of all the other content available.

There's not a lot of easy fixes when there is a lot of content to try and maintain exposure for, and given that many games still get publisher paid funding to put front and center, and companies are going to use that to make money, it's unlikely anything is going to change to any great degree.

[Kribwalker]

Gamepass is good for devs and boosts sales? You don’t say.

I love the ability to play the wide variety of games on there and with companies seeing returns like this, it’s no wonder gamepass keeps getting so many new games

[gangsta_red]

I personally wouldn't have ever played half the games on my own if it wasn't for them being on Gamepass. (Ruiner, Shante, Edith Finch, etc)

So it's good to hear that having games on GP is actually a benefit because it is in a sense free advertisement and could potentially help sales of a game.

*Added disclaimer*...I'm sure this won't be the case for all games but it's good to read that for little games like this one, Game Pass is benefiting both the developer and gamers.

[Kribwalker]

it really seems like it’s creating a healthier games industry when these small devs can benefit from something like gamepass

[Brave_Losers_Unite]

I guess they sold 4 copies

[NeoGamer232]

Yup, they sold one copy and then with gamepass saw four copies sold.

Definitely, why he has come out into the media to brag about the success.

Guess your just salty because you are not on gamepass... Probably don't even own an XBO. But, hey... Why state the obvious?

[Brave_Losers_Unite]

I have game pass but on PC. I dont need an Xbox since a PC is a million times better

[Pancit_Canton]

I guess 4 people bought it.

[gamer7804]

It's actually pretty fun, kinda like an advanced excite bike but on a mountain bike with an entire world to rude around in.

[Lon3wolf]

I love ruding around town on my bike :P

[King_Noctis]

Yeah, and a total amount of 0 has bought the game on PSN.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

That’s great news to hear and is good for smaller devs who’s games might otherwise be passed up. I don’t see how anyone could have on this however I could think of a few who would....

[scoot_n_loot]

Gotta love Gamepass. Looking forward to seeing how it evolves over the next few years.

[Orionsangel]

I keep adding months to my Ultimate Game Pass with MS rewards. Getting 8,500 reward points is pretty easy and with that I keep adding months to my subscription.

[sprinterboy]

600,000 gamers who downloaded the game doesn't equate to actually liking the game and continue playing it.
Going off the trailer and some YouTube gameplay videos i just watched I estimate less than 5000 gamers are still playing it as it looks and plays shite.
I'd like to see how many hours of the game has been played as I bet its low.

[gangsta_red]

Not even sure if this is a complaint or a criticism. Fact is this game has sold beyond the developer's expectations and he's thanking Game Pass for it.

Everything else you mentioned is moot to the actual point.

[sprinterboy]

I agree gamepass is great value for money but how many downloaded it and played the whole game or a decent amount of hours or was it more of a demo playthrough and uninstall

[gangsta_red]

"...but how many downloaded it and played the whole game or a decent amount of hours or was it more of a demo playthrough and uninstall."

I understand that part...what i don't understand is why is this a concern of yours. This developer is talking about sales. And he's saying that his sales has increased due to Game Pass. So I have to wonder why would he be concerned about people not playing his game after these great sales that happened because of Game Pass.

" i just watched I estimate less than 5000 gamers are still playing it as it looks and plays shite."

Maybe your estimates are way off and that those 600,000 are playing it and enjoying the game because it's fun.

[sprinterboy]

Just listen to yourself pmsl.
Do you really think 600,000 gamers are playing that regularly? Ffs there is no hope.

[gangsta_red]

You're absolutely right!

Sales don't matter anymore, it's all about who is currently playing the game.

Any links to how many people are currently playing the game?

[sprinterboy]

So a vast majority are using there $1 gamepass offer, downloading a bunch of games and that's classed a huge success for a dev who gets 600,000 downloads?

[King_Noctis]

Sale suddenly doesn’t matter when it favor the Xbox. Now it’s “engagement”.

Lmao, hypocrites.

[gangsta_red]

@sprinterboy

It would be better if you actually read the article. Because you seriously have no idea what you're talking about right now.

"And because of that, during launch month, our Xbox sales — we didn't do any discounts on it or anything — quadrupled, and have now settled to about three times as much as before."

@Solidgamer

Hilarious right!? We have a developer saying he made a lot of sales and now sprinter is questioning if people are actually playing the game... it's nuts the lengths people will go to just to downplay or troll Xbox and Game Pass don't you agree?

[chiefJohn117]

Haters gonna hate

[gangsta_red]

Never ceases to amaze

[DEEHULK88]

If you have never used Gamepass and don't know how it works......please STFU because you're not a credible soures of info when it comes to Gamepass.

[MoonConquistador]

I'll assume from your comment that you do have gamepass and looking at the two comments you've posted have added absolutely nothing to this discussion. So please STFU yourself and stop trying to define who should be allowed to comment and who shouldn't.

Put some work into your stinking attitude and hopefully your next post won't be as much a waste of time and effort.

[DEEHULK88]

What could a person that doesn't have an Xbox or Gamepass add to this discussion? A person with Gamepass would be able to understand how it works and wouldn't asking silly questions or pretending to know more a game than the actual DEVELOPER of the game.

[DEEHULK88]

People are acting like they know more about the game more than the developer is just crazy.

[galmi]

this site is awesome lol

[Krew_92]

As someone who plays on all consoles and mostly PC these days, this site is indeed entertaining. Nothing like a cup of coffee in the morning while reading people staunchly defend and argue about petty video game stuff.

[FreeFallFrenzy]

So is this actual full game purchases because of the front screen advertisements or is it just downloads from the Game Pass subscription? If it's the latter then it's not really impressive because they only make a minute amount off the subscription fees and it's just a download that will probably go away in a couple months. But if it's the former, then that's really good advertising on the Dashboard! Makes you wonder if MS will keep advertising this way in the future for other new indies on GP. Just wish I knew the full story.

[No Way]

The gaming industry fans are weird. Here is a good thing.. for the industry. For the developers. For the gamers.

Yet, so many on here hate it. Funny. :)

[Krew_92]

It's not difficult to find their reasoning. People just flat out despise anything done by Xbox. Despise might not even be a strong enough word to describe how some of these people feel about the Xbox brand. Utter disdain, resentment, and probably even pure hatred. It's odd seeing nothing really change having been here since 2009 and earlier. Console wars will never truly go away it seems.

[Automatic79]

GamePass is an option, a good option for gamers who are strapped for money and those who want to explore new games. I believe GamePass is a huge factor as too why MS has invested in New Studios and it's a great indicator of the amount of content we are going to get from first party through third party. Glad that so many people are enjoying all type of games.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Gamepass is a double-edge sword

[gangsta_red]

Agreed, on one side gamers are getting to play a bunch of games at a very good subscription price. On the other side developers are getting exposure, making a profit and getting some advertisement out of it.

That's a good double edged weapon to have in your arsenal.

+10 Vorpal Sword of Morgenstern

[XiNatsuDragnel]

I see you are blind to the bad, another it's a excuse for AA,Mediocre games to be mass produced instead of AAA quality ones

[ILostMyMind]

Did that "quadruple" on PlayStation sales or what? Compared to what? What is the point?

[Italiano1234567]

The game as had 600000 different players play the game. It avg 45 players last 30 days on pc. Im confused how this quadrupled your sales.

[majiebeast]

No numbers were given probably got a cheque from uncle phil to say how gamepass isnt killing software sales like seen in microsofts own quarterly report.

[DEEHULK88]

I am trying to figure out why non Gamepass owners care about the sales of the gsme? I would believe the developer before any of you fools.

[FanboysKiller]

GP replaces shitty reviews and surpass it in every way possible.

[MarkyMark89]

Here comes the wave of market/business experts who somehow game all day. To smash this article to bits, and claim this is terrible for gaming. The market needs no DLC, no Microtransactions, no Sub Services right. A $60 all-inclusive game.. -__-