In-depth: Game Pass stats, probed & deconstructed

GameDeveloper deconstructs the latest Game Pass stats from Microsoft & Ampere Analysis.

[gangsta_red]

excellent read

[darthv72]

thanks to gamepass, i have bought more games than ever before in recent memory. I got an email saying I was due to renew so I redeemed some of my MS reward points for a few more months of service. Thank you bing search.

[brewin]

Isn't it lovely!? The false narrative of this being bad for games is not holding any weight at all. I look back on most of the games I've played more than a few hours of on game pass and I own the majority of them. All game pass does is allows me to wait for it to go on sale! I still want to have ownership of the games I love. Game pass allows me to weed through all the BS.

[arkard]

You know you can still wait for games to go on sale right? Without paying a monthly subscription while waiting for the sale?

[Flawlessmic]

I really dont understand the whole buying a game because of game pass.

I literally owned an xbox one and now a xsx to do the exact opposite of buy games.

Why would i pay for something i can play through my subscription? I get if its removed a year later and u feel like playing it again so you buy it then.

But to buy it while still on gamepass just seems illogical to me, no offence.

I dont beleive many people are like you darth that are buying games because of gamepass.

It literally promotes the opposite and going of most of xbox fans, charging full price for games is very bad these days and very anti consumer, so its hard to beleive those same people are supposedly buying games that are already on game pass.

I just sont beleive the narrative as it doesnt make sense.

Besides why dont we ever hear about the actual sales numbers for games, if gp is boosting them?

[darthv72]

Oh i know it sounds crazy, I do still enjoy physical collecting. And the games I tend to buy as a result of playing them in GP are ones that are in physical form (if available). Even though I may never open them unless its a game that is removed from GP. I recently picked up Dirt 5 for like $10 (so way below the original retail price) as well as the Falconeer for $7. Both are games I first played on my SS and with GP games that leave, then so does the ability to play on the SS unless i buy them digitally. But like i said, I much prefer physical so I bought them and can continue to play on my SX (yes i have both).

GP (to me) takes me back to the days of downloadable demos, only these are full games. Havent you ever bought a game after playing a demo? Im betting you have but yes GP lets you play the entirety of the game (unlike a demo) so long as it remains active. once its taken out then you have to turn to the disc to play it again. And chances are there are some games you have played more than once through. That is how i use it, to curate the titles i will actually put $$ into owning.

Everybody is different in how they view the service so there is no right or wrong way to use it so long as you get out of it something you enjoy.

[UltimateRacer]

To answer your last question, gamepass isn’t boosting sales. people are simply taking advantage of the rental system that is gamepass to play the games that are on it and then once there done they move on from said game. It’s the reason why MS aren’t making a dime from GP and it’s also the reason why developers are still very reluctant to put there games into this rental service unless MS stump up a lot of $$$. For me there is nothing better then actually buying a game and supporting the developers this way your funding there next projects/sequels/DLCs. No doubt MS are slowly trying to reel people in before massive price hikes come into effect which they will at some point.

[FanboysKiller]

You don't get it then every game is the same to you , grayish, beat em once and move on ; thankfully , I'm not that depressed to consume them this way , it just doesn't feels right to play this way to begin with.

[Battlestar23]

Love gamepass i'm glad i no longer have to buy games and i can just rent them via the service and even better to stack up on years of gamepass whenever MS do a deal for 1 euro. I have never had to pay more then that for gamepass either.

[Christopher]

Great article.

Point 1: Microsoft advertises games on game pass over other games, allowing them to reach a broader audience. it also helps that people who pay for a subscription tend to do so to save money and only play what they can get via subscription, so they stick to that area rather than being more likely to explore options outside of it.

Point 2: MTX are good now and people who subscribe to a low monthly cost and do not pay for full releases spend more on MTX than on actual games.