Phil Spencer on the Xbox Game Pass: “It’s not for everybody.”
Launched back in 2017, the Xbox Game Pass has been a growing feature of the console and one of its most popular ones. With a rich library of games, the service has been a lucrative endeavor for Xbox, despite all the issues it has and the criticism it has been facing.
But, not everyone is a fan and Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer shares that opinion, as he believes that Game Pass is simply not for every type of player.
In a recent interview, Spencer discussed the Game Pass and its future, revealing some interesting details, but also some interesting opinions when the popular service is concerned.
“I’ll start with just how many people are playing games. And I’ve always thought about Game Pass as just another option for somebody who wants to play,” Spencer said when starting to discuss the service’s role in the future of the console and Xbox gaming in general.
“We have many business models for people playing from free to play, buying games, discounted games, Game Pass is an option,” he continued. “So when I’m looking at Game Pass, I want to make sure the hours that people are playing continue to go up, that new people see this as a way for them to find and build their library of games, and we remain focused on that.”
But, while Xbox is going to invest in evolving the Game Pass system, this isn’t necessarily the only focus of the company, Spencer confirmed. “Our biggest areas of growth right now are PC and Cloud, which makes sense, since consoles, all up, are a good business, they’re an established business, but they’re not really a growing segment in gaming,” he said.
“So we’ve got good growth on PC, we’ve got growth on Cloud, in terms of users and hours. And console continues to be a really healthy part of Game Pass,” he continued, before adding. “But there isn’t a unique need for Game Pass to be the only way for people to play. If everybody who’s a Game Pass subscriber instead decided to buy their games, that’s good for the business as well.”
This brings us to the conclusion that Xbox, as a console, has to offer entertainment to every type of player, and not just force Game Pass content, as there are players who simply do not want that kind of experience.
“For me, I look at Game Pass as a healthy option for certain people. It’s not for everybody. If you play one or two games a year, Game Pass probably isn’t the right business model for you, you should just buy those two games, and that would make total sense. But I want you to have the choice. So we remain focused on everything that’s on Game Pass is also available to buy,” Spencer explained further.
“We’re making those games available to buy in more places. And I look at the overall hours of people who are playing on Xbox, playing our games, and that’s a number that continues to grow fairly substantially, and that’s really the metric I think about for success,” he started his conclusion. “And Game Pass has been an important part of that, but I don’t try to solve for Game Pass specifically on its own. It’s kind of part of the equation for Xbox finding new players.”
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