Xbox Game Pass has been a major selling point for the console over the last few years, but a new shift in leadership strategy may mean that the library is going to start shrinking in the future.
RUmor Suggests Xbox is Pausing Third-Party Game Pass Deals
PlayStation 5 has dominated the console generation when it comes to console exclusive experiences, but the Xbox ecosystem has remained a compelling place to play for some gamers thanks to the huge library of titles available through Xbox Game Pass.
Although one of the biggest selling points of the Xbox Game Pass subscription is the Day One access to Xbox Game Studios first-party titles, the platform is also home to tons of third-party titles, many of which also arrive on Day One for Xbox Game Pass. According to a new report from Insider Gaming, that may not remain the case going forward though.
Insider Gaming noted in a recent report that during a recent episode of The Business of Video Games Podcast, Shams Jorjani, the CEO of Arrowhead, hosted Fernando Rizo of Caboodle Games and the pair discussed the current state of Xbox Game Pass.
During the chat, Rizo explained that, “I was at a trade show in Italy, had some nice lunches, some nice dinners with industry colleagues.
Word on the street was that loads of people who were in the frame for Game Pass deals.
You know, nothing was inked yet, but the deals were in advanced discussions.
Everybody got the rug pulled out from under them.”
Jorjani followed up to ask if new deals were off the table and Rizo wasn’t able to say for sure, but suggested that things seem to currently be ‘on pause.’
Xbox Leadership Attempts to Redefine the Brand and Selling Points
It’s no secret that Asha Sharma feels Xbox Game Pass has been too expensive and she has already implemented some major changes to allow the team to lower the price of the subscription service’s top tier. It wouldn’t come has a big surprise at all if the Xbox team is looking for additional ways to save more money around the service, as well.
There have been rumors circulating for a few weeks that Xbox is on the verge of a major round of layoffs and that a lot of staff will be let go when the next fiscal quarter officially starts on July 1. As Xbox continues looking for ways to increase profits, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the company also start to cut back on the deals its been making with third-party studios to stock the Game Pass library.
There’s no denying that Xbox is definitely going through a major evolution as the new leadership implements a different strategic approach and tries to redefine the brand and its selling points. It will be very interesting to look see how things continue to change over the coming months and to see what sort of position Xbox is in heading into the holiday season.
Be sure to check back soon for more Xbox and Xbox Game Pass news and updates.
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