Xbox Game Pass could eventually stop offering day one first-party games, according to a prediction from Bloomberg insider Jason Schreier. The veteran games journalist believes major Xbox-owned titles like Fable and Clockwork Revolution could eventually move away from day one Game Pass releases as Microsoft rethinks its Xbox exclusivity strategy.
Xbox Game Pass Could Move Away From Day One First-Party Games
This latest report comes from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, who was a recent guest on the Maximum Fun podcast. During the episode, Schreier opened up about his thoughts on Xbox Game Pass and speculated that the subscription service could eventually move away from day one first-party releases from Xbox. “I think they keep Game Pass going, but I think [Microsoft] removes day one sales. Because that makes no sense anymore.”
The veteran journalist then explained that first-party Xbox Studios games are still expected to make good sales despite being heavily discounted on Game Pass. However, Jason Schreier said that with Microsoft’s move to bring back Xbox exclusives, it no longer makes sense to have major first-party titles featured as day one releases. Schreier gave an interesting example of how current Xbox Studios are likely worried about sales due to Game Pass and Microsoft blocking their games from being sold on PlayStation.
“These Xbox studios are expected to sell their games, and not just be a part of Game Pass. If I was the Coalition and I had Gears of War: E-Day coming out soon, I would be freaking out. I would be asking: are we going to be getting shut down next after the game comes out? That game is now suddenly going to miss out on millions of copies because Asha Sharma and her team decided to make it exclusive to Xbox, and not be on PlayStation. So what does that mean for us?”
Xbox Studio Leaders Reportedly “Detest” Game Pass
The other big news to come out of this report is that many Xbox leaders reportedly “detest” Game Pass. According to Schreier, many Xbox Studios believe that Game Pass is responsible for “devaluing” their games. With Microsoft then expecting them to sell many units of their projects, it’s understandable why they would feel conflicted about the Xbox subscription service.
Here is what Schreier had to say about this: “There are a lot of people out there in studio leadership within Xbox who absolutely detest Game Pass and think it has destroyed the value of their games, think it has taken away the value from all games in general and has been a detriment to the games industry in those people’s view, because of how it devalues games.”
To be clear, Jason Schreier did not definitively report that Xbox Game Pass will lose day one games. His comments were speculation based on Microsoft’s current strategy and the information he has heard from people within the company. However, as one of the industry’s most trusted insiders, Schreier believes Microsoft could eventually stop releasing first-party Xbox titles day one on the subscription service due to their move to bring back exclusivities.
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