Having a service with a large number of games at people’s disposal is expensive
It turns out that regularly adding third-party games to a service like Xbox Game Pass requires an unfathomable sum of money.
For those who can’t afford a full £70 (89usd) (R1,673.00) game every month but can spare £13 (17usd) (R310.00) per month, Game Pass is a pretty unmissable deal. It has a large selection of games and adds new titles every month, including some big hits. But, as it turns out, frequently adding games costs a lot of money; according to a recent interview with Xbox head Phil Spencer from Windows Central, it costs more than a billion dollars per year, which is money that almost none of us will ever come close to in our entire lives.
When asked how Xbox can bring back some niche titles and how its marketing strategy works, Spencer says that “We have a service that is financially viable, meaning it makes money, in Game Pass. We’ve put a lot of money into the market, over a billion dollars a year supporting third-party games coming into Game Pass. What we see in Game Pass is a service that supports all kinds of games, from the biggest games to the unknown indie games that you didn’t know you would love until you played it.”
It’s not surprising that Xbox will have to spend so much because it will have to ensure that developers are adequately compensated for game sales they may miss out on (which will obviously be even more expensive for AAA developers).
In the same interview, Spencer revealed that contrary to recent reports, there are no plans to bring Game Pass to PlayStation or Nintendo consoles. And, yes, Banjo-Kazooie fans, Spencer is well aware of your desire for a new game.