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[analog_future]

Exactly! Plus I think gamers are smarter than these people think they are. Call of Duty is HUGE! But will it make every COD player sign up for GamePass just so they don't have to pay $70? HECK NAH! GamePass will cost you $200 a year, vs. $70 for COD.

Good thing Game Pass allows access to hundreds of games then, and not just one.

 

[adamsapple]

Exactly! Plus I think gamers are smarter than these people think they are. Call of Duty is HUGE! But will it make every COD player sign up for GamePass just so they don't have to pay $70? HECK NAH! GamePass will cost you $200 a year, vs. $70 for COD.

Mike Rose, founder of the publisher No More Robots touches upon this. More people coming to game pass for the big CoD's means more people getting exposure to smaller games.

Rose adds: "As Microsoft has said, Game Pass numbers have slowed and it’s started to hit what seems to be some kind of limit in terms of the number of people who are willing to subscribe. But if the latest Call of Duty lands on Game Pass, isn’t that just going to be too big to say no to? Are millions of people going to continue to pay $70 for CoD when they could go with Game Pass?

"Obviously from my perspective as someone with games on Game Pass, I hope they choose Game Pass — that’ll mean more players for my games on the service, potentially bigger Game Pass deals to go with the bigger subscriber numbers… definitely an outcome I’d be open to."

 

[Reckheim]

isn't gamepass core just a renaming of xbox live gold? Like you don't actually get the gamepass catalog.

 

[adamsapple]

isn't gamepass core just a renaming of xbox live gold? Like you don't actually get the gamepass catalog.

It's XBL gold and more. You get the Gold features but instead of the real shitty games it offered, you get a curated selection of the main game pass library that gets updated a couple of times a year.

This is the list of games it launched with.

• Among Us
• Astroneer
• Celeste
• Dead Cells
• Descenders
• Dishonored 2
• Doom Eternal Standard Edition
• Fable Anniversary
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76
• Firewatch
• Forza Horizon 4 Standard Edition
• Gang Beasts
• Gears 5 Game of the Year Edition
• Golf with your Friends
• Grounded
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo Wars 2
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Human Fall Flat
• Inside
• Limbo
• Ori & the Will of the Wisps
• Overcooked! 2
• Payday 2: Crimewave Edition
• Powerwash Simulator
• Psychonauts 2
• Slay the Spire
• Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition
• Stardew Valley
• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
• Superliminal
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
• Unpacking
• Vampire Survivors

 

[Reckheim]

It's XBL gold and more. You get the Gold features but instead of the real shitty games it offered, you get a curated selection of the main game pass library that gets updated a couple of times a year.

This is the list of games it launched with.

• Among Us
• Astroneer
• Celeste
• Dead Cells
• Descenders
• Dishonored 2
• Doom Eternal Standard Edition
• Fable Anniversary
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76
• Firewatch
• Forza Horizon 4 Standard Edition
• Gang Beasts
• Gears 5 Game of the Year Edition
• Golf with your Friends
• Grounded
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo Wars 2
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Human Fall Flat
• Inside
• Limbo
• Ori & the Will of the Wisps
• Overcooked! 2
• Payday 2: Crimewave Edition
• Powerwash Simulator
• Psychonauts 2
• Slay the Spire
• Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition
• Stardew Valley
• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
• Superliminal
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
• Unpacking
• Vampire Survivors

so the same thing Sony did at the start of the generation? I see what they did here. I like the spin.

 

[kirby007]

i'm an independant analist myself, bonk

 

[kiphalfton]

How many people actually paid full price though, and didn't either:
1. Convert from Gold to GPU, using the $1 deal.
2. Get Gold keys from cdkeys/eneba/etc. to extend their current subscription.
3. A combination of #1 and #2.

That's the real question.

 

[Chukhopops]

How many people actually paid full price though, and didn't either:
1. Convert from Gold to GPU, using the $1 deal.
2. Get Gold keys from cdkeys/eneba/etc. to extend their current subscription.
3. A combination of #1 and #2.

That's the real question.

According to an Xbox slide deck released during the FTC v Microsoft federal case, Xbox Game Pass churned out an average of $9.26 per subscription.

Leaked Xbox Game Pass Revenue Figures Prove It Is a Money-Making Machine | BigTechWire

www.bigtechwire.com

 

[adamsapple]

Leaked Xbox Game Pass Revenue Figures Prove It Is a Money-Making Machine | BigTechWire

www.bigtechwire.com

Interesting.

Average $9.26 x 41.7 million = approx. $386 million USD revenue each month.

Seems like they're making very good bank with the service.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

It's like converting inches to centimetres and claiming there is growth in your johnson because the new number is bigger.

Ok....Dick.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Again, can you share the numbers? Cost of acquiring games? cost of dev? and how it is funded by GP completely (or GP exceeding costs)?

Phil has lied enough that i'd need them to show those numbers in a quarterly report before i believe his statements. After seeing the expected cost of acquiring games on GP day one in the leaks my doubts grew even larger that its profitable, even breaking even seems unlikely. He may attribute xbox as a whole as profitable and apply it to GP because xbox = GP now.

Here is what we know about Microsoft: They are frontrunners. When things go well, they scream through the rooftops. When things aren't going well and/or haven't changed they're quiet or use weird metrics.

Its far more telling that they haven't boasted about Starfield's actual sales figures. Nor have they commented on the impact it has had on console sales or Gamepass subscriptions. If those things had been huge they would have big press releases on them. Does this mean that Starfield was a failure, not at all, but I do firmly believe that this will not move the needle in any meaningful way.

 

[adamsapple]

Here is what we know about Microsoft: They are frontrunners. When things go well, they scream through the rooftops. When things aren't going well and/or haven't changed they're quiet or use weird metrics.

Its far more telling that they haven't boasted about Starfield's actual sales figures. Nor have they commented on the impact it has had on console sales or Gamepass subscriptions. If those things had been huge they would have big press releases on them. Does this mean that Starfield was a failure, not at all, but I do firmly believe that this will not move the needle in any meaningful way.

But they haven't done anything beyond engagement numbers for all their recent games, including FH5 which had a million+ players even before the games retail release. They only revealed the total player count once and anything else, like the game hitting 30m players, was seen by players in the in-game leaderboards, not by any tweets or press release from Xbox.

Why would they change their modus operandi now.

 

[mejin]

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

The Microsoft silence about it and all the expeculation I don't believe is that high. Let's say, I will need more sources to believe that.

 

[Banjo64]

Interesting.

Average $9.26 x 41.7 million = approx. $386 million USD revenue each month.

Seems like they're making very good bank with the service.

Nuh.

These figures were leaked as of Jan 2022, when there was 25m Game Pass subscribers. It’s in the article.

We know that figure has barely grown at all, courtesy of ya boy Phil.

If we’re rolling in the Gold members the average monthly figure won’t be anywhere near $9.

 

[adamsapple]

Nuh.

These figures were leaked as of Jan 2022, when there was 25m Game Pass subscribers. It’s in the article.

We know that figure has barely grown at all, courtesy of ya boy Phil.

If we’re rolling in the Gold members the average monthly figure won’t be anywhere near $9.

Gold was priced at $9.99 and unlike game pass, there were no '1 month trials' or conversion tricks. It would be a flat $9.99.

It's a safe calculation.

 

[Banjo64]

Gold was priced at $9.99 and unlike game pass, there were no '1 month trials' or conversion tricks. It would be a flat $9.99.

It's a safe calculation.

Gold has 3 and 12 month options.

We know from PS that most users pay yearly rather than monthly. I don’t see why Xbox users would be much different.

Don’t leave nice emoji’s on my comments Adam, I only deal with lols and triggereds

 

[tmlDan]

Why would I be able to share the numbers? I can't share the numbers any more than I can share the numbers of how much it costs Sony to pay for their timed exclusives.


You having a weird conspiratorial mindset doesn't make Game Pass any less profitable.

Considering i need actual facts rather than vague statements id say you're running off of conspiracies more than I am.

I do the same at work, i don't want percentages, give me actual figures - percentages can be flawed, skewed, manipulated to tell a different story.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Gold was priced at $9.99 and unlike game pass, there were no '1 month trials' or conversion tricks. It would be a flat $9.99.

It's a safe calculation.

Nobody is paying $9.99 a month for Core. They're far more like to buy the $60 per year option.

I'll go on that option once my subscription expires in 2025.

For the record, I think GPC is a fairly good deal and it does include a decent number of games. Nice little addon for someone buying a young kid their first Xbox.

 

[Sorcerer]

Omdia: 1 subscriber, 2 subscribers, 3 subscribers... Whew!!! That's a lot of counting!!! Let's just say 51 million and call it a day.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Why would they change their modus operandi now.

Because that's what they did back in the day when 360. When you accomplish something you boast about it.

I will still never forget the one month during X1/PS4 era where Xbox One outsold the PS4 and Adam Greenberg put out a big press release about it.

 

[Dick Jones]

Because that's what they did back in the day when 360. When you accomplish something you boast about it.

I will still never forget the one month during X1/PS4 era where Xbox One outsold the PS4 and Adam Greenberg put out a big press release about it.

Poor Aaron, his one win and he is incorrectly identified.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Poor Aaron, his one win and he is incorrectly identified.

Was he measuring in centimeters?

 

[IDKFA]

I don't think GP itself is making that much profit, especially when you factor in the tens of billions spent on publishers, new staff wages, offices to run and maintain etc etc.

However, Microsoft have the money to throw at it. The more money they blow the more their subscribers numbers will increase.

Honestly, Microsoft are pretty dumb for:

A - Not throwing hundreds of millions at publishers to get more AAA third party games releasing on Gamepass day 1 (Imagine Dragons Dogma 2, EA FC, GTA6 etc)

B - Not making the best first party titles Gamepass exclusive.

Call me for a job, Microsoft.

 

[adamsapple]

I don't think GP itself is making that much profit, especially when you factor in the tens of billions spent on publishers, new staff wages, offices to run and maintain etc etc.

However, Microsoft have the money to throw at it. The more money they blow the more their subscribers numbers will increase.

Honestly, Microsoft are pretty dumb for:

A - Not throwing hundreds of millions at publishers to get more AAA third party games releasing on Gamepass day 1 (Imagine Dragons Dogma 2, EA FC, GTA6 etc)

B - Not making the best first party titles Gamepass exclusive.

Call me for a job, Microsoft.

No, Microsoft, don't. No one wants them to start making sub exclusive only. It's good that everything is available to purchase if someone needs to.

 

[mckmas8808]

Interesting.

Average $9.26 x 41.7 million = approx. $386 million USD revenue each month.

Seems like they're making very good bank with the service.

But you know that average will be lower now with Gamepass Core added to the mix.

 

[Dick Jones]

Was he measuring in centimeters?

Millimeters.

 

[Warablo]

So there's more Game Pass users than current gen X-Box owners.

Would make sense, Game Pass on PC is great.

 

[proandrad]

Fake news, we were told Xbox is on the verge of collapse and needed to buy Activision to compete.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Would make sense, Game Pass on PC is great.

Fun fact: I've actually gotten far more use out of PC Gamepass than Xbox GamePass. I had a ball going in a re-earning achievements on Bethesda games. I wish they would add achievements to New Vegas and Fallout 3.

 

[Chukhopops]

Interesting.

Average $9.26 x 41.7 million = approx. $386 million USD revenue each month.

Seems like they're making very good bank with the service.

Also this was before the 10-15% price increase of this year.

Your calculation probably isn’t too far off considering the fact that:

In a recent earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced that subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass generated nearly $1 billion in revenues during Microsoft's Q3 period (January - March 2023).

1bn revenue in a quarter would be around 333M per month, again before the price hike and GP Core revamp.

 

[dotnotbot]

Counting Core subs in is like measuring your penis length starting from the chocolate cave

 

[NEbeast]

Why so mad bro, next time you can make an Xbox relevant topic.

 

[Skifi28]

I would suggest including office subs next time, the number increase would be insane.

 

[Goalus]

Why so mad bro, next time you can make an Xbox relevant topic.

He's mad because because he is insecure and bitter. Like about half of this thread's population.

 

[TheGodfather07]

He's mad because because he is insecure and bitter. Like about half of this thread's population.

Right. They're jealous they can't play games like redfall and forza. They're stuck with mario and spider-man instead. They're stuck having to talk about selling millions of consoles and software instead of subscriber numbers. Sony and Nintendo fans would swap positions with xbox in an instant! All they could do is imagine playing super quality the likes of redfall, starfield and forza. Sony and Nintendo must be scrambling to figure out how to respond to such quality. How can they possibly match it?

 

[Goalus]

Right. They're jealous they can't play games like redfall and forza. They're stuck with mario and spider-man instead. They're stuck having to talk about selling millions of consoles and software instead of subscriber numbers. Sony and Nintendo fans would swap positions with xbox in an instant! All they could do is imagine playing super quality the likes of redfall, starfield and forza. Sony and Nintendo must be scrambling to figure out how to respond to such quality. How can they possibly match it?

Why are they so mad then? Doesn't add up.

 

[Chukhopops]

Right. They're jealous they can't play games like redfall and forza. They're stuck with mario and spider-man instead. They're stuck having to talk about selling millions of consoles and software instead of subscriber numbers. Sony and Nintendo fans would swap positions with xbox in an instant! All they could do is imagine playing super quality the likes of redfall, starfield and forza. Sony and Nintendo must be scrambling to figure out how to respond to such quality. How can they possibly match it?

You seem really obsessed with Xbox though judging from your post history.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Mike Rose, founder of the publisher No More Robots touches upon this. More people coming to game pass for the big CoD's means more people getting exposure to smaller games.

And then they start wondering why they even pay for a service like GamePass because it's full of games they actually don't care about.

This is already a problem for services like Netflix, Prime or HBO Max.
For gaming it will be an even bigger problem and create a much lower ceiling.

 

[Clintizzle]

Dream scenario:
The Game Awards at the end of the year- its time to announce GOTY. Baldurs Gate III wins. Larian studios is up on stage, usual speech, thank you gaming community etc etc. End the speech with "Oh BTW we haven't forgotten about you, Xbox. To celebrate the GOTY, BG3 is available on GamePass right now"

Everybody dies. The End.

 

[Jemm]

And then they start wondering why they even pay for a service like GamePass because it's full of games they actually don't care about.

This is already a problem for services like Netflix, Prime or HBO Max.
For gaming it will be an even bigger problem and create a much lower ceiling.

Not all the games/movies/series are supposed to be for everyone since the tastes vary.

To get more people to subscribe, you need to have content that appeal to different demographics.

I sub to Netflix, even though I would never watch 90% of what they offer. However, the 10% is enough for me to keep paying. Someone else may like completely different set of shows they offer.

Same with Game Passb For some, first party games are enough, but some others could prefer just simple indie games since they have less time to play.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Not all the games/movies/series are supposed to be for everyone since the tastes vary.

To get more people to subscribe, you need to have content that appeal to different demographics.

I sub to Netflix, even though I would never watch 90% of what they offer. However, the 10% is enough for me to keep paying. Someone else may like completely different set of shows they offer.

Same with Game Passb For some, first party games are enough, but some others could prefer just simple indie games since they have less time to play.

Yes, that's the idea, but that doesn't change what I said.
Hence everybody will be wondering what exactly they're paying for.

That's why GamePass has a low ceiling.

 

[TransTrender]

Not all the games/movies/series are supposed to be for everyone since the tastes vary.

To get more people to subscribe, you need to have content that appeal to different demographics.

I sub to Netflix, even though I would never watch 90% of what they offer. However, the 10% is enough for me to keep paying. Someone else may like completely different set of shows they offer.

Same with Game Passb For some, first party games are enough, but some others could prefer just simple indie games since they have less time to play.

edit: not kind

 

[Heisenberg007]

You're right. Good thing it's been profitable for years:

Speaking at The Wall Street Journal Tech Live Conference, Xbox boss Phil Spencer revealed that Xbox Game Pass is already profitable

It's not really. I have explained this in a lot of detail, so I won't go into that again, but to summarize ... even Phil Spencer never said these words "Game Pass is profitable." You can watch his WSJ interview. He never said those words.

Every journalist just ran with it incorrectly.

Even in the article you shared, the part "Xbox Game Pass is already profitable" is by the author of the article, which Phil never uttered. The following quote by Phil also doesn't have anything about it.

He was referring to overall content and services revenue, not Game Pass, when in the last sentence of his interview, he talked about profitability.

 

[Fess]

Dream scenario:
The Game Awards at the end of the year- its time to announce GOTY. Baldurs Gate III wins. Larian studios is up on stage, usual speech, thank you gaming community etc etc. End the speech with "Oh BTW we haven't forgotten about you, Xbox. To celebrate the GOTY, BG3 is available on GamePass right now"

Everybody dies. The End.

Lol yeah that would be something else

Not likely but I guess it could happen. Not sure it was selling all that well on PS5 and will surely not sell better on Xbox months later, not sure the lost sales would mean much. Announcing a Gamepass deal at the TGA would no doubt be a big PR push.

 

[nemiroff]

Right. They're jealous they can't play games like redfall and forza. They're stuck with mario and spider-man instead. They're stuck having to talk about selling millions of consoles and software instead of subscriber numbers. Sony and Nintendo fans would swap positions with xbox in an instant! All they could do is imagine playing super quality the likes of redfall, starfield and forza. Sony and Nintendo must be scrambling to figure out how to respond to such quality. How can they possibly match it?

Try chamomile tea.

 

[Taur007]

I knew they will try that fake numbers with convertion trying to show a fake growth.

They didn't try anything, they simply did the same exact conversion Sony did nothing more nothing less. Did you forget psnow only had about 3 - 4 mill subs before they merged?