Doom: The Dark Ages proves what we all knew: Day-one Game Pass cannibalizes sales

Despite many having great things to say about Doom: The Dark Ages, it seems that Xbox Game Pass may have hurt its sales upon release.

[Fishy Fingers]

Absolutely does and absolutely has since 2017. I would have bought it in the good ol' days but instead just downloaded on gamepass. Ideal.

£70 or 7 months GP. I know which works for me. Do what works for you.

[Lightning77]

As I mentioned above The sand fall devs seem to be happy with sells and that's on GP and Oblivion.

[Dudebro]

Sand fall is a new dev studio with a jrpg i.p...probably wasn't confident enough to pass on the money for raw sales.the game has sold 4mil, so they're next game won't be day and date with game pass.

[Profchaos]

Oblivion is first party

[1Victor]

@fishy: “Absolutely does and absolutely has since 2017.”
Totally agree with you there.
IF the article is to be believed it sold less than 1/3 the number of active players reported on day 1 but I’ll be fair and say it sold 1/3,
According to a certain community any game that sold a million or less is a flop. 🤷🏿 🤦🏿
Edited to fix text

[S2Killinit]

7 months or 3.5? Isn’t gamepass $20/month?

[crazyCoconuts]

Maybe he has PC GP - that's cheaper. for US it's 12/month, so $70 will get you about 6 months right now.

[XBManiac]

PC GP 12$/month with the first month for free (7 months for $70 in practice). But you need to create a new account and pass content if you want to maintain achievements and the same friends automatically.

[S2Killinit]

I see so its $20/month on xbox only, but on pc its 12 the first year. I swear MS is trying to scorch earth console gaming.

[Lightning77]

@Dude We dont know if it will be day and date. New studio, new new game is risky for not only the devs but the player. Skeptical players would GP it. They did, but more bought it and that's impressive for a new studio and new IP. GP didn't hurt them in any way.

@pach First Party that still sold well. They released at the same time also.

[Sonic1881]

Same here. I just downloaded it on gamepass and saved money

[Lightning77]

What about expedition 33? That sold well as along side Oblivion remaster.

I think It was MS cramming these games together. Especially when you factor in 2 high profile releases. Ppl are still playing Expedition and Oblivion.

[Stevonidas]

Expedition 33 was $50 with a 10% discount to those who preordered before release.

You’d think more publishers would realize that lowering the price of your game (especially if its’s on GamePass) would lead to more sales. After all, 70% of $50 is better than 100% of nothing.

Their greed will be their downfall. Good riddance.

[Lightning77]

The price plays a small role. If it did then South Of Midnight numbers would of gotten revealed through other sources. (No MS since they don't directly give numbers) that's a 40 game.

[Eonjay]

Perhaps. You are probably right to some degree here because those 1 million copies (mostly split between PS5 and PC) aren't that hight either so the game just didn't sell well at all

[tay8701]

Expedition 33 has sold well because of playstation fans and steam, xbox fans have little to do with its success.

[CrashMania]

Id be willing to bet as many as 90-95% of those sales are PS5 and steam, I think Doom had more going against that just gamepass, all things considered.

[andy85]

It sold well on PS and Steam. Also because its a masterpiece

[neutralgamer1992]

There’s been a lot of debate about whether Xbox Game Pass cannibalizes game sales, especially for first-party titles. The truth is, Microsoft (MS) is still experimenting with the Game Pass model — trying to find the sweet spot between subscriber growth and traditional game sales.

Some titles perform extremely well despite launching day one on Game Pass. Others struggle to gain traction. Timing, genre, marketing, and competing releases all play a role. For instance, if a game drops during a crowded release window — especially following major titles — it might not get the spotlight it deserves. I personally believe if some of these releases had launched in a quieter period like July, they might’ve seen better overall engagement and sales.

But here’s the thing: I don’t think MS is overly concerned about individual game sales on Xbox. Their larger strategy seems clear — grow Game Pass Ultimate as a platform, even if that means sacrificing some direct Xbox revenue.

Here’s what I think the current Xbox/MS playbook looks like:

Day One on Game Pass (Ultimate only): Drive subscriptions and maintain value for loyal Xbox users.

Full-price release on PlayStation: Tap into the massive PlayStation player base and make up revenue there.

Full-price release on Nintendo Switch (if supported): Another revenue stream, especially among family/portable gamers.

Steam full-price release: Reach PC gamers who might not want subscriptions — and make a healthy profit.

This hybrid approach allows Microsoft to benefit from both worlds: steady subscription revenue and sales from non-Xbox platforms. Game Pass becomes a “home base” for value-seeking players, while the broader ecosystem continues to bring in traditional revenue.

And let’s not ignore a key part of the subscription model — the silent income stream. A large chunk of users (especially parents or casual gamers) sign up, input their credit cards, and forget to cancel. This kind of passive, recurring income is incredibly valuable. Microsoft, like other subscription-based companies, counts on this as part of its financial forecast.

At the end of the day, Microsoft isn't trying to sell every game to every Xbox user anymore. They’re playing the long game — building an ecosystem, spreading across platforms, and converting passive users into recurring income, all while keeping Xbox users engaged with Game Pass Ultimate.

Is it perfect? No. Is it working? For MS, it might just be

[kindi_boy]

shhhh don't let common sense get in the way of the narrative.

[lucasnooker]

It probably does but I don’t think this game was as hype as eternal in general.

Eternal got released for pirate pre-cracked day of release for free and sold very well.

This time around I personally just played it on game pass because I wasn’t feeling it as much as eternal.

[Profchaos]

Gave it a pass because it wasn't on the disc ended up borrowing it from a mate played it through in like a week it was fun better than eternal not as good as 2016

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

Oblivion Remastered seems to have done fine despite GP. My guess it had more hype than Doom: the Dark Ages due to ongoing rumours of its release. I also think MS might have released Doom: the Dark Ages I a bit to close to Oblivion Remastered.

[Reaper22_]

Maybe so but GP subscriptions keeps the money coming in.

[lukasmain]

Obviously not enough was 'coming in', so they had to resort to releasing all their games on Playstation

[crazyCoconuts]

Well GP isn't on PlayStation so that's not technically true - they're just trying to max revenue.
Not saying GP is making money - just saying going to PS doesn't prove that it's not.

[wesnytsfs]

So Playstation exclusives do not make enough money either according to you that is why they release on Computer. I think your nartative is short sighted why would you not port your games to diff platforms after a certain time period.

[kindi_boy]

Just an idea what if enough is coming in but I want more?

[crazyCoconuts]

None of us know for sure whether it's enough to offset that calibration. I have a strong intuition that it's not and MS is scrambling but not much data to back it.

[Reaper22_]

You're right we don't know. But Microsoft is set to make more than 5 Billion this year ftom GP. I tend to believe them over some random gamers that do the know what the hell they're talking about. They must me doing something right because devs and publishers keep supplying games for the service. It's very profitable for them. You may not believe it or like it, but that's reality. If it was losing money it would of been canned by now.

[crazyCoconuts]

"If it was losing money it would of been canned by now."
I don't think that's true. Netflix operated for a really long time in the red... Lots of tech companies do that with aggressive growth targets. After growth levels off is when the changes start happening to get into the black. I think we're about to see that

[Vits]

I seriously don’t get how we’re still getting articles like this. Like, how is this still a conversation? Yes, it cannibalizes sales. That’s not a bug, that’s the entire point. It was built to shake up the traditional market, not play nice with it. Acting surprised that it’s pulling customers away is like being shocked that streaming hurt DVD sales. Come on. It’s not some unintended consequence, it’s the strategy.

The real conversation should be whether that business model is viable to developers and publishers alike, but I guess that’s a bit too much for your average gaming blogger to unpack. So instead, we get the same tired takes rehashed into oblivion.

[caxow]

First off, if the title is "proves what we all knew" then no one is surprised, we all knew.

Second, Phil and everyone at Microsoft were telling people it wasn't cannibalizing sales and was increasing sales. Even after it was shown in court they still tried to convince people on multiple occasions.

The only ones pretending to be surprised by this fact are Xbox and it's fans.

And no it's not sustainable, but I guess in 2028 when Phil hasn't reached his billion subscriber target Microsoft can continue to act surprised that it didn't work.

[Vits]

First off, read the article, not just the tittle.It’s just a rehash of the same tired ideas, once again trying to suggest that the thing designed to cannibalize sales somehow isn’t supposed to do that.

Second, that’s called PR. You don’t have to be a genius to recognize basic corporate messaging.

Third, I find it hilarious how Xbox and its fans are simultaneously treated as a major force and as if they don’t exist at all, whichever is more convenient at the moment.

And finally, great way to prove the point. No real argument, no actual analysis, just a surface-level affirmation with zero thought behind it. Pretty much why there are no actual useful articles on the subject, it goes way beyong what gamers are capable of reading.

[Lightning77]

A billion subscriber target? What are you taking about?

Well GP is set to make 5.5b$ in rev this year. GP also made up its most of it's content and services also last quarter.

[TheGoodestBoi]

@Lightning77 and how much from that 5.5B do they have to pay developers? What is the opportunity cost from lost sales? Revenue by itself is a meaningless metric for measuring performance

[caxow]

Lightning77

"A billion subscriber target? What are you taking about?"

“For us, it’s all about how we reach 2 billion gamers,” said Spencer.
https://venturebeat.com/pc-...

I apologize I was wrong I understated Phil by 50%.

And if you think what I said was ridiculous, then you're only saying that Microsoft is twice as ridiculous.

So, thanks for really driving home what I said.

"Well GP is set to make 5.5b$ "

Also, revenue is not profit.

[Blaze929]

This is N4G, you know that doesn't fit the narrative here lol. Everyone here got a business analysis degree.

[Stevonidas]

You know what else hurts sales? Charging $70 for a 15-hour single player game with Denuvo tacked on to it.

[S2Killinit]

The question is: overall do you save money with services or lose money with services. For me, I lose money.

(Because I don’t stick to the limited number of games available on a service, and only play one or two games at a time making a monthly service payment redundant)

[Zerobalance]

Why does this guy care! This guy a Pony or something? Play the game! Rent the game or don't.

[kindi_boy]

yes he is.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

I bought it for full price on my Steam Deck OLED. If it's Doom then I buy it day one. Been doing it since the 90's. My next day one purchase of a traditional game (not visual novel) will probably be the next Doom, lol.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

I did watch 2 video reviews who have Game Pass and did a review for DOOM the Dark Ages and they both said they bought DOOM TDA because they are big DOOM fans. So that is cool . Also , a lot of people still haven't bought current gen hardware yet, including me . If I had a PS5 I would have pre-ordered DOOM TDA . I think this game will have good sales over time ,because it is a single player game.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

But I do think the vast majority of people who played Doom the Dark Ages on a Xbox series consoles played it thru Gamepass . And yes absolutely that hurt the sales of DOOM TDA.

[InUrFoxHole]

Why is this hard to understand? If you put a game on a subscription service, yes its going to have less sales.

[gold_drake]

I dunno, indidnt like this one as much etenrnal

the weird medieval theme just didnt work for me

[kindi_boy]

shhhh please stick to the narrative

[Petebloodyonion]

OH no! The cat is finally out of the bag, and this article exposed the lies that MS mentioned in the court documents when they claimed that putting games on Gamepass can cannibalize sales...
https://assets.publishing.s...

Wait, what are they admitting...

STILL this article is more proof than proof that MS mentioned that Gamepass canibalise sale
, thanks to this article, we also know that despite other day 1 games selling well (Oblivion, Indiana Jones, Clair Obscur33)
Doom (supposed) failure is due to Gamepass and surely not due to:

Past similar games have not been selling at expected levels ( Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein, Prey, Deathloop)
Bad timing due to an excellent month (Oblivion, CO33 Doom)
Current economics and gaming pricing
Doom fatigue, as it's the 3rd game with the same graphics in 9 years

[Smellsforfree]

Options are fine. I'm someone who after having Game Pass for 2 years (as it came bundled with my Series X), I found that I really did not utilize it fully. I'd rather just own the games outright even if it means buying a few games that I don't get into.

[wesnytsfs]

Microsoft seems to be happy with Gamepass. So get over it.

[kindi_boy]

What a nonsensical article, THERE IS NO GAMEPASS ON PLAYSTATION WHY THE GAME DIDN'T SELL WELL OVERTHERE?!!?!?!?!?!!

[northpaws]

It is also not good for brand loyalty as well, I sold my XBox Series X after my gamepass expired, haven't even bought one single game, it was an easy decision to sell, don't feel like invested in the ecosystem at all.

[Blad3runner00]

I think price had something to do it with it also. It's sold poorly when totaling all platforms it released on. Even sold poorly on PS5.

Doom The Dark Ages was a full price game, but the game itself doesn't show it, nor is it worth it.

Expedition 33 was $50, had more gameplay, quality and length overall.

Doom The Dark Ages was over priced. Should have been $50 at most for what you get in that game. (16 hours at most)

[jznrpg]

Not having the game on disc is the reason for me not to buy it. Maybe when it’s super bargain binned or if it’s on PS plus I’ll check it out.

[MrBaskerville]

It does, but I'm not sure it matters to MS, sales are not their goal currently. They only care about growing gamepass.

Though you could also point to Expedition 33 and make the opposite claim.

[RavenWolfx]

I wouldn't have bought it until it was on sale for like $20.

[rlow1]

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out from the get go. Non of this matters if we don’t know the actual subscriber count.

[LostPotato]

Ah yes I see the MS and GamePass circle jerk of hate is still going strong on this site.

Personally don't care as it's well worth the money to play new and old games.

Especially since new games will now cost you $70-100.

Anyway learn to adapt or die out as evolution has shown.

[CrimsonWing69]

Let’s ignore things like Clair Obscur though.