Microsoft’s Game Pass is hugely popular among gamers. However, Raphaël Colantonio, the founder of Arkane Studios, sees it as a significant threat to the industry.
Who is Raphaël Colantonio? Raphaël Colantonio is a French game developer and co-founder of Arkane Studios, where he helped shape titles like Dishonored and Prey. In 2017, Colantonio left Arkane and founded the indie studio WolfEye Studios.
Arkane has been part of Bethesda Softworks since 2010, which in turn is part of the parent company ZeniMax Media. In 2021, ZeniMax was acquired by Microsoft, making Arkane part of the Xbox Game Studios. Since then, Arkane’s games often release directly on Game Pass and are part of Microsoft’s first-party portfolio.
Why is Game Pass popular among gamers? Microsoft’s Game Pass is a subscription service that provides access to a large selection of games for Xbox and PC. It is particularly popular because many current titles, including big new releases like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, are included in the subscription right at release and can be played for a fraction of the purchase price.
For a comparatively low monthly fee, players gain access to hundreds of games, can try out many titles, and save significantly compared to purchasing individually. MeinMMO editor Karsten even believes it has never been more worthwhile.
In a post on x.com Colantonio criticizes Game Pass harshly, seeing it as a threat to the entire industry.
“They will either wipe out all others or give up”
Why does he see Game Pass as a threat? In his post, Colantonio wants to highlight the downsides of Game Pass. He sees it as concerning for the gaming industry and ultimately for the players for various reasons:
I think Game Pass is an unsustainable model that has increasingly harmed the industry for a decade, subsidized by MS’s “infinite money,” but at some point, reality must hit. I do not believe GP can coexist with other models; they will either wipe out all others or give up.
In another comment, he adds: “Only the players like it because the offer is too good to be true, but eventually, even the players will hate it once they realize the impact on the games.”
The problem primarily lies in the fact that Game Pass would create a difficult interplay between players and developers. Game Pass provides players with the opportunity to try out new games with “low risk” and potentially not engage with them further, and even if they are good, they might not buy them afterward but only play them on Game Pass.
This creates a vicious cycle that primarily reflects in the sales figures of the games, resulting in less profit. Thus, Game Pass would harm the industry in the long run and eventually the players.
What does Microsoft say about Game Pass? In 2023, Microsoft confirmed through internal information that especially in the first 12 months, there is a noticeable decline in game sales. This contradicted previous claims that Game Pass would lead to increased game sales if they were part of Game Pass.
Colantonio therefore believes that Game Pass threatens the industry and makes it difficult for developers to survive and deliver high-quality games.
Another point Colantonio criticized in the past is the sheer volume of games released each year – a trend on the rise. The invested budget is also a problem. However, he sees the biggest factor in something that many studios have favored for many years: “Players are tired” – Celebrated game developer explains that the gaming industry must change to overcome the crisis
