The big takeaways are that Xbox Game Pass subscribers play more than average, and most games, particularly back catalog titles and indies, get a nice boost from joining the service. Per Microsoft, Game Pass subscribers play 40 percent more titles and explore 30 percent more genres after joining. They also like to spend, shelling out for 50 percent more in-game purchases than the average player. New games released Day 1 on Xbox Game Pass get a 3.5x “player lift” over their first 30 days compared to similar games not on Game Pass. Meanwhile, older games added to the service get an 8.3x player lift compared to where they were at before joining Game Pass. Indies particularly benefit, getting a 15x player lift for joining Game Pass. Microsoft’s metrics for “player lift” are a little murky, but the overall point is pretty clear – more people will play your game on Game Pass. So yeah, according to Microsoft’s stats, Xbox Game Pass is quite the success, but is it the future of gaming? Perhaps, but Microsoft has a long way to go to achieve that goal. According to industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls, subscription services (which include PlayStation Now, Stadia, GeForce Now, and others in addition to Game Pass) only account for about 4 percent of the industry right now. Harding-Rolls expects that number to double to around 8 percent over the next five years, but the ubiquitous “Netflix of games” probably isn’t coming any time soon (if at all). What do you think? Is Xbox Game Pass going to turn the industry upside down or just remain its own successful little niche?
