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Is MS is going to Kill Game Pass Before CoD releases?
- Thread starter ChorizoPicozo
- Start date
- Poll
Robb
Gold Member
It all depends on what type of content they want and what fits their strategy. I don’t think singleplayer focused content is what they’re looking for. “Engagement” is their driving force and they simultaneously need to cut the fat from all their acquisitions.
Arkane seems to want to make singleplayer titles first and foremost, their fans wants them to make singleplayer titles first and foremost, they obviously don’t know how to/want to work on GAAS titles. MS definitely wants them to make GAAS, so they don’t fit the mold.
Same with Tango and Toys for Bob. Can’t keep people engaged for years with Ghostwire, TEW, Hi-Fi, Crash/Spyro. And TfB’s latest GAAS Crash game wasn’t very successful.
Etc.
Portugeezer
Member
No, they'll want to see if it increases gamepass subs a lot.
TheGodfather07
Member
Definitely not. Microsoft can't walk back on the promises they made with gamepass. They would lose whatever fans they have left. What they will do is increase the price of gamepass instead.
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AV
We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Nope. They'll use this to measure whether it's worth bothering on the same track.
If they don't see a good subscriber increase for COD then there's literally nothing that will make the service more appealing and we'll see way less focus on it.
If they don't see a good subscriber increase for COD then there's literally nothing that will make the service more appealing and we'll see way less focus on it.
FunkMiller
Member
They won’t kill GamePass... But the new COD game won’t be on it!
…or it’ll be $30 a month.
…or it’ll be $30 a month.
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Fess
Member
They need the service for later and nobody would sign up for a new one if they kill this one.
There are two likely scenarios:
1. Delayed games on Gamepass. Might happen through early premium editions like I said, 2-3 months is my guess. Or the Sony model of a year or more delayed subscription library releases. Would increase sales.
2. Games exclusive to Gamepass. To lure people in might kick off with Kojima’s game and use shorter episodic strategy and cloud usage as the selling point. The nuclear strategy is to put CoD, Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls, Candy Crush on there. On every screen but exclusive to a subscription service.
The dark days of gaming is coming.
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azertydu91
Hard to Kill
Who knows
systemr123
Banned
Having Gamepass is like having an ugly girlfriend. You know she’s not pretty, and the sexual experience is just very average, but she doesn’t ask you for a lot of money and maintenance, like going to fancy restaurants and such.
You settle for this instead of looking for a better experience because it costs a little bit more money to get a pretty girlfriend that likes to be wined and dined, but oh boy once you taste her greatness you dump the ugly girlfriend immediately.
Alas, it doesn’t happen because you don’t want to put in a little extra effort for something much better, so you’re stuck with the ugly girlfriend forever. You keep paying fast food meals for her and in the end you might even spend more having the ugly girlfriend
You settle for this instead of looking for a better experience because it costs a little bit more money to get a pretty girlfriend that likes to be wined and dined, but oh boy once you taste her greatness you dump the ugly girlfriend immediately.
Alas, it doesn’t happen because you don’t want to put in a little extra effort for something much better, so you’re stuck with the ugly girlfriend forever. You keep paying fast food meals for her and in the end you might even spend more having the ugly girlfriend
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MrRenegade
Banned
MS envied Netflix's position and created GamePass in an attempt to replicate their success and/or expropriate the market and kill off competitors. Which is possible with their huge treasure chest and some brains, but it's not possible WITHOUT seeing the fundamental differences between movies/series and games in general. AND they can't see it, they're incapable of it.
Incompetent people everywhere, using brute force to force their way into games, burning wheelbarrows of money every day, with a straight face. All this without brains, literally a Planet of the Apes scenario. That's why the corporate giant model is unsustainable. They always need new markets to sustain their tumorous growth. The little roots of the whole (Xbox) are going to nuke the whole company, or they're going to be cut off to stop the bleeding. All they do is stifle innovation and kill markets they have zero expertise in. HR is so twisted and rewards sycophantic idiots at these companies that in the long run they're gonna kill themselves because... well, idiots playing Napoleon games.
Incompetent people everywhere, using brute force to force their way into games, burning wheelbarrows of money every day, with a straight face. All this without brains, literally a Planet of the Apes scenario. That's why the corporate giant model is unsustainable. They always need new markets to sustain their tumorous growth. The little roots of the whole (Xbox) are going to nuke the whole company, or they're going to be cut off to stop the bleeding. All they do is stifle innovation and kill markets they have zero expertise in. HR is so twisted and rewards sycophantic idiots at these companies that in the long run they're gonna kill themselves because... well, idiots playing Napoleon games.
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The old Gold to Ultimate conversion also required Game Pass to have expired. It make sense that Microsoft doesn't want people to be able to extend indefinitely.
Why if you're paying for it? It's usually because of expected price adjustment. adding a 3 year cap also isn't the same as requiring expiration. A 3 year cap would stop indefinite extensions but the requirement for expiration means you would have to renew at the new price or face paying more now.
Mr.Phoenix
Member
Too early to call. They either put it on GP and see what it does for their subs/platform, or they don't and sell it as a separate entity. Either way, both approaches and outcomes paint a different picture for gamepass.
Fess
Member
lmao well that’s one take
The library isn’t as big as it needs to be imo but in a nutshell it’s like any other subscription service, you pay a monthly fee to get access to a big library of content. Can still do individual purchases, at a discount. It’s expensive if you barely use it, and leave the subscription active, but cheap if you use it a lot.
I’m currently out of the sub but thinking about getting a cheap 14 day sub to play Hellblade 2 , should be the cheapest way to play through it. If using that method means Ninja Theory might be closed then so be it. I’m not carrying the whole industry on my shoulders. I bet Phil makes more money per day than I make in a year.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
The conversion also works if you have an active GP but the conversion ratio is lessened.
Microsoft want to get you on the auto-renewal, and are hoping that you then forget about it, so you end up paying the full monthly fee. But if you can add new Game Pass at any time (at a favourable ratio), you will never hit the auto-renewal. It does also prevent people from beating price adjustments. But when the Ultimate conversion first launched in 2019, the expiry requirement was already in place (for 1:1), and it was a 3:1 ratio for 12 month conversions with Ultimate active:
You can covert Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass subs into Ultimate for cheap
Here's something to get involved in if you're interested in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
www.eurogamer.net
It was only in 2023 they worsened the ratio to 3:2 (3:1 with Ultimate active). So we effectively had 4 years with no price changes and the expiry requirement active. Therefore I don't see how the fact the same requirement is still active means another pricing change is imminent.
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ChorizoPicozo
Member
but you realize that it goes against what Xbox had said for years regarding Game Pass and it's strategy.
that strategy changed then, persuing GaaS makes Game Pass irrelevant.
and what Booty said about focusing in High Impact games also makes Game Pass's strategy more unattainable (Big games take longer to come out) when GP needs a constant drop in content
Because in 2023 they had a price increase. Near the 3 year cap when after a year they had enough sign ups. The point of these caps and expiration requirement is because of expected price adjustments though. What other logical reason is there for it, think about it? Why give a different price/ratio if it's expired or why cap at 3 years?
Physiognomonics
Member
Just increasing gamepass price would be my guess.
A gave another reason in my post (to force people to hit the auto-renewal). But if it's a price increase every 3 years, the next one is due in 2026.
SportsFan581
Member
The title here doesn't seem to jive with recent statements at all. It's something I wouldn't believe until they actually announced it.
Maybe they can use the upcoming showcase to shift the conversation back to what they are trying to deliver and away from the recent operational decisions.
Maybe they can use the upcoming showcase to shift the conversation back to what they are trying to deliver and away from the recent operational decisions.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
i mean, people are not signing up already
yeah this indeed, it is killing Game Pass. (that's was the big promise of Day One games )
which is counterintuitive to what xbox/MS recently said "meet players where they are". "being a good publisher on PlayStation and Nintendo".
we have all these evidence about the destructive nature of game pass to the economy of gaming. and is the major contributor for Xbox's current situation.
i think Piscatella said this year is about survival
ByWatterson
Member
Gamepass? No.
Gamepass as we've known it with all day one releases? Possibly.
Gamepass as we've known it with all day one releases? Possibly.
Unrivaledx88
Member
I voted 50/50
But no they won’t kill it , xbox platform depends on it, it will be really hard for them to kill it off but maybe for next gen gamepass is no more.
But you never know . They are in a tough spot
But no they won’t kill it , xbox platform depends on it, it will be really hard for them to kill it off but maybe for next gen gamepass is no more.
But you never know . They are in a tough spot
HeisenbergFX4
Gold Member
That’s the thing about any of these companies.I don't think so and I hope not... But with MS...
As of today I still would bank on Gamepass perk expansion and some awesome new console like hardware coming from MS for next gen.
But being MS they might send out an email tomorrow morning announcing all that I just said or possibly closing the whole Xbox division.
Who knows who is actually steering that ship at this point
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adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I'm .. not really seeing the logic you're making here, Three. The 3 year cap doesn't happen in intervals, nor would the price increase for that matter, anyone can apply for the conversion any time and many people likely also opt for just a single year instead of 3 year because maybe they don't want to make a bigger commitment. How can anyone possibly think that a majority of people who used the conversion applied exactly 3 years before they did the last price increase?
I know I didn't.
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But you can turn off auto renewal. I don't think that is a reason to stop people paying today. There is a steady stream of dates but the aim is to prevent the majority of players having paid prices years ago while content is getting more expensive and inflation is occurring. There are phases in subs too, a userbase building phase and a revenue based phase so if they feel they've reached the userbase limit they often start increasing revenue little by little. I'm not sure if they're at that phase yet but we'll see soon enough. I suspect an alternative would be to introduce a more expensive tier.
Not everybody goes for 3 years of course but they have data on what the userbase has done. It doesn't have to be 3 years. The logic behind it is that a cap exists for price adjustments and phases of the subscription service. The only reason it exists is to prevent somebody paying low rates for content that sees costs increase in the future. It would be like allowing paying 1992 prices for houses being built in 2020. They would be taking a big loss on those users. That's what the caps are there to prevent. Requiring the user to end their subscription to get a better rate also helps in this because you charge a higher rate and prevent the user from getting a discount now and they would need to renew with whatever the price is when their sub lapses in the future.
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You can, but you get an extra month "free" if you don't (I guess you could turn it off during the free month, but MS is counting people forget). Anyway if you're right, the "phase" will determine when to raise the price, which could be at any point. If the expiry condition had only just come in, your argument would be much stronger, but since it's always existed, we have to look to other factors.
Bumblebeetuna
Member
Not putting new CoD day one on GamePass is “killing GamePass”? 
Robb
Gold Member
Yeah, I’m personally just spitballing. But plans change.
In the end I’d guess that what they’re looking for are games that they believe will keep people playing for a long time. I guess that can be something big and singleplayer like Skyrim, a big or small GAAS title or even something very small like, say, Vampire Survivors.
One offs that people play for 30h and then move on is what I think they’re not generally interested in, and especially so if they’re also underperforming. Doesn’t jive well with the “engagement” measures.
UltimaKilo
Gold Member
Is this a troll thread? Is Nintendo going to cancel Mario?
Fess
Member
20+ million has signed up. I doubt that they want to start over from 0 without a console with any type of hype or loyal fanbase to boost the figures from the online paywall.
They’ve already gone away from day 1 with the early access releases. I played Starfield day 1 on Steam. Gamepass gamers played it day 5. Still talked about as day 1 on Gamepass… Some catched the lie and complained but most didn’t pay attention to it.
At the end of the day a subscription service, no matter who makes it or if it’s games or music or movies, is about paying a monthly fee for a big library or content instead of paying for everything individually.
Not at all, you would still be playing their games on Playstation and Nintendo, you would just have to be a subscriber. It’s the nuclear strategy, won’t go down well, but that’s how I think most will do it in the future. It’ll start with storefronts and launchers, with exclusives like how Epic to do, and it’ll end with subscriptions.
And did you pay attention to the web based online store just announced? Everybody skipped the part where Sarah said they would expand from mobile to everything. Watch that interview. I think that’s their every screen strategy. No talk about subscriptions, yet, but I’m in a bad mood and I think it’ll happen sooner or later. And that’ll be how they plan to dodge paying the 30% cut to a closed ecosystem platform holder, they just need a browser.
Majima Everywhere System
Member
They got to do something big, now that gamepass is proven to be a forever loser.
They appear more interested in storefronts than subscriptions. They may keep gamepass going, but are certainly willing to tank the quality as they move on. They will accept the repercussions because the next shiny thing holds much more promise.
They appear more interested in storefronts than subscriptions. They may keep gamepass going, but are certainly willing to tank the quality as they move on. They will accept the repercussions because the next shiny thing holds much more promise.
Griffon
Member
Except game pass isn't for poor people either, it cost 200$+ per year.
Fbh
Member
Kill it as in no more gamepass?.
Nah.
But I could see big changes coming to it. Maybe a substantial price increase and the introduction of a new tier at the current (or slightly lower) price that works more like Ps+ extra and focuses on 6+ month old releases (but could still get the occasional day 1 relese from smaller mid tier Microsoft games)
Nah.
But I could see big changes coming to it. Maybe a substantial price increase and the introduction of a new tier at the current (or slightly lower) price that works more like Ps+ extra and focuses on 6+ month old releases (but could still get the occasional day 1 relese from smaller mid tier Microsoft games)
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ChorizoPicozo
Member
Is Nintendo bleeding money?
Effigenius
Member
Can they even add CoD this year? I thought they couldn’t due to the licensing agreement that was already in place with Sony until that runs out?
ultrazilla
Gold Member
i just want to know the general vibes.
the more I think on it. the more likely I see MS killing Game Pass.
Cutting to the chase:
Xbox needs to make money fast and furiously.
1. We know Xbox Studios + Zenimax are not contributing to it.
2. Game Pass hasn't grown. and the growth projections for subscription services are not encouraging
3. Hardware will continue to decline
4. ABK is the sole reason for Xbox's growth in the last quarter; without them, Xbox´s revenue would have declined.
5. The dilemma is existential:
If you launch CoD on Game Pass and the strategy doesn't work out, you'd not only lose direct game sales but also one of the most important cash cows in your entire business...a business desperate to make money. The gambit is too damn risky and is not worth it when CoD by itself is working as a sub-service/platform.Edit:Now you can change your vote based on the events of the next two quarters
Can we get "lmfao" as a choice?
Not a chance. MS is ALL IN on Gamepass. They want those subscriber numbers increased and
adding the COD franchise day one to the service should pop those numbers. However,
they may get push back as Call of Duty then becomes a paid subscription in order to play it.
GHG
Member
In their current situation I wouldn't say it's "who" is steering them, but rather "what".
With that "what" being money.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
there is not growth. that's the issue.. Game Pass is not growing.
and I think day one games are not even coming to game pass core, right?
Just like PS+ and games with g
again..the ongoing strategy since 2016. was a complete failure.
right now I don't even know if Xbox has a strategy, they just want to make money ASAP
Look at that downward trend
Not even jez corden believes this is going to be a success. think about it.
ChorizoPicozo
Member
ChorizoPicozo
Member
GP is what put Xbox in this situation