As Bethesda announced yesterday, the highly anticipated titles Starfield and Redfall have been postponed to 2023. This means Microsoft lacks 2 important exclusive games for Xbox and the Game Pass. Is it even worth subscribing to the Game Pass? MeinMMO author Marko Jevtic gives an assessment.
As Bethesda announced yesterday, the titles Starfield and Redfall will not be released as announced in 2022, but only in 2023. Starfield is the next game from the Skyrim developers, and Redfall is a vampire co-op shooter from the creators of Dishonored and Deathloop.
He is not only involved with games at MeinMMO: He is currently doing his PhD in Game Studies and teaches seminars on gaming history and current developments in the industry at several German universities.
Both games were highly anticipated, and the postponement has disappointed many accordingly. However, this announcement has the most significant consequences for Microsoft.
Microsoft reportedly spent $7.5 billion to own the renowned publisher Bethesda with all its games and related studios.
Starfield and Redfall were undoubtedly the most important games for Microsoft in 2022. Now they are not coming anymore.
What this means for Xbox players in general and Game Pass subscribers in particular, we clarify here.
More about the announced postponement can be found here:
The Game Pass is losing important titles for 2022
The postponement of Starfield and Redfall came unexpectedly. However, this announcement was not a real surprise for many players.
So far, there has been only concept art for Starfield, and Redfall has at least leaked gameplay scenes. Thus, it was foreseeable that games without previously presented official gameplay would not come out in about 6 months.
However, particularly Starfield is a highly anticipated title for many players in the gaming community. Many hope for a sort of ‘Skyrim in Space,’ and the last Elder Scrolls game for single-player fans was released over 10 years ago.
Bethesda has intentionally played with these expectations: The release of Skyrim was on 11.11.11. The originally intended release of Starfield was on 11.11.22.
Here you see Starfield in a trailer:
However, this historical repetition will not take place now. This is not just sad for all romantics. Skyrim is still a major hit among gamers and ranks among the most popular games in the Game Pass. That the indirect successor is now coming much later devalues the Game Pass and its promises significantly.
That the big AAA releases from Microsoft are playable on the release day via the subscription service is one of the biggest selling points for the Game Pass. However, the last major exclusive title from Microsoft for the Game Pass was Halo Infinite – that was in December 2021.
Not only does the shooter currently have significant issues, but the next major exclusive title from Microsoft is not coming until 2023. Consequently, there won’t be any major exclusive hits to promote the subscription service for over a year. And this is despite major shopping sprees by gaming giants like Bethesda, Obsidian, and Activision Blizzard.
The Game Pass will likely only receive third-party titles and indie games. Overall, this is still a very good deal for the price. However, no matter how fantastic indie games like Tunic or Unpacking are, which land on release in the Game Pass – they do not appeal to such a wide audience as ‘Skyrim in Space.’
In this situation, Microsoft has made a big deal out of the Game Pass release of Starfield:
Curiously: Microsoft brings as many games exclusively for PS4 and PS5 as for Xbox
Journalist Jeff Grubb mentioned another quirky side effect of this postponement. Before Microsoft acquired Bethesda, the Skyrim publisher had already signed exclusive contracts with Sony for the games Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo.
The two Bethesda games were console-exclusive for PS4 and PS5 and are currently not available on Xbox. Microsoft itself has only released 2 exclusive games for Xbox in the last 9 months with Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5.
In other words, Microsoft will likely have released as many PS games as Xbox games between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022.
Neither Deathloop nor Ghostwire: Tokyo are consequently in the Xbox Game Pass, although they come from Microsoft’s Bethesda. This particularly hurts Xbox fans regarding Deathloop – this acclaimed game has a rating of 88 on Metacritic and even a rare 10/10 from IGN.
The Game Pass summarizes the gaming market in 2022
However, what must be noted in all these classifications: The Game Pass is merely collateral damage from a larger trend in the gaming industry. Because it increasingly seems like this year in gaming is pretty much at a standstill.
No matter if Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, Starfield and Redfall, The Day Before or the successor to Zelda: Breath of the Wild – the gaming calendar for 2022 is increasingly clearing out.
In addition, almost all popular service games are currently facing problems. Whether in CoD Warzone or Destiny 2, this kind of long-term game is either facing one of the two problems or even both together:
- Players expect a steady flow of content, but instead receive irregular content drops.
- The new content is not convincing.
We also address this topic in the podcast:
Ultimately, players are left with very little choice. If you want to spend your time gaming in 2022, you basically have only 3 options:
- You continue playing the service games despite disappointments.
- You go through your game backlog or dig out old favorites.
- You play the most popular indie games or look for hidden gems.
And this is where Microsoft’s Game Pass can shine again. Because even though Microsoft primarily markets with the latest AAA titles: Players love the Game Pass because it offers so many good games outside of the mainstream.
No matter if co-op hits like It Takes Two, indie favorites like Outer Wilds, or classic games like Skyrim – the Game Pass has something for everyone.
In 2022, the Game Pass thus becomes a microcosm of the entire gaming year: Indies become much more important and can more easily find many fans despite strange concepts. Also, favorite games from the past are being dug out more often. However, those waiting for the latest AAA hits are likely to be disappointed this year.
Red-hot AAA games will be more insignificant in 2022 than ever before. And this is despite the fact that the major acquisitions of AAA studios have been a huge topic across the entire industry for months.
Conclusion: The Game Pass is still a good deal, but for different reasons
So, has the Game Pass suddenly become bad due to the postponement of Starfield and Redfall? No, certainly not.
On the contrary: It can be argued that the Game Pass can convince due to this gaming drought with its great offer. Additionally, with the subscription service, countless games can be tried without further costs. This way, you might even discover your new favorite game, completely risk-free.
However, the brand “Xbox” itself loses significant importance and prestige due to these circumstances. The Game Pass is not used for Microsoft games on Xbox or PC but for the games of all other publishers and developers.
This is definitely a bitter side effect for Microsoft. However, players can respond to this significant gaming drought more easily than ever with the Game Pass and continue to fill their leisure time with new games.
The Game Pass is available on PC and Xbox consoles for €9.99 per month. The Game Pass Ultimate gives you access to PC and console games and costs €12.99 per month. With deals we presented, you can get the Game Pass even cheaper.
