[0:00] But I think what it is time to bring up, [0:04] I mean, in fairness, the community's [0:06] been talking about this for a while, and [0:08] some people have really strong feelings [0:10] about it one way or the other. [0:13] >> We are now 9 years officially into the [0:17] Game Pass experiment. [0:19] >> And I think it is fair. I'm not I don't [0:21] say that in like a derogatory way [0:23] experiment like it [0:25] >> it had never been done before like a [0:27] especially a major first party trying to [0:29] create by their own words I don't know [0:31] if they ever literally said this but we [0:33] all understand Game Pass to be an [0:35] attempt [0:36] >> to be the the Netflix of video games [0:40] >> and it was going to take a lot of money [0:42] to to pull off and so you know [0:44] Microsoft's got plenty of that in their [0:45] war chest. So, we're 9 years into the [0:47] Game Pass experiment. And so the [0:50] question that I want to ask each of you [0:52] is, [0:54] is Game Pass in the grand scheme of [0:57] things for Xbox, I'm not saying for the [0:59] industry, for Xbox as a business, cuz [1:02] that's what all this is about this week, [1:05] >> is Game Pass proving to be a mistake, or [1:09] if we don't want to quite go that severe [1:12] necessarily, [1:15] is it is it sustainable in its current [1:18] form? term whereby day one releases go [1:23] into the service like it people are not [1:25] buying games on Xbox we know this they [1:28] don't even they won't even give out [1:30] numbers anymore some third parties are [1:32] even not releasing or very skeptically [1:36] releasing games and they're not selling [1:38] games on Xbox so Miranda you first here [1:43] where do you how much of Xbox's current [1:48] self-imposed predicament [1:51] is a result of the Game Pass experiment [1:54] not going as well as they'd hoped. [1:56] >> First thing I'm going to say, I still [1:58] like Game Pass. I think it's very [2:00] >> from a consumer perspective. Yeah, [2:02] perspective, don't get me wrong. So, [2:04] yeah, go ahead. Yeah, it's like the [2:05] consumer perspective is like game pass [2:08] rules. Like it is so convenient for [2:10] finding so many different games, trying [2:12] smaller ones, cliff, as you're saying, [2:14] like it's the indies that hold or like [2:16] smaller experiences that hold a lot of [2:17] this together in the meantime between [2:19] development cycles. Uh, and I think Game [2:22] Pass really lends itself to exposing [2:24] yourself to new kinds of games, new [2:26] developers without having to invest [2:28] much. That being said, I do [2:32] think [2:34] Microsoft has put itself in a strange [2:36] place with how it expects success. And I [2:40] know they do have some metrics on like [2:42] how much people play with Game Pass as [2:45] far as like how much time have they [2:46] spent within the game, like did they [2:48] finish this game? Like there are ways to [2:50] track that. [2:52] And I think that is informing some of [2:55] the changes they're looking at now. But [2:58] I do think at the end of the day because [3:00] they are so married to the subscriber [3:03] bottom line as I was saying earlier when [3:05] they make a massive mistake like raising [3:07] the price too much to the point where [3:08] everybody just cancels because it is too [3:10] much especially if you have the higher [3:11] tier people who are paying more per [3:13] month cancelling in mass um you're kind [3:16] of risking something fundamentally [3:19] challenging like if you put all your [3:21] eggs in one basket [3:23] what are you doing and so I think that's [3:25] maybe also why we started seeing the [3:27] move away exclusives, right? So, it's [3:29] like, okay, if we can sell these games [3:31] on other platforms, that helps [3:33] supplement Game Pass in some way if [3:35] we're losing subscribers. So, going back [3:38] to being exclusive, still having [3:40] everything in there, except for Call of [3:41] Duty because of course that that is [3:43] another big thing that people buy. [3:45] That's like one of the things that [3:46] people buy every year and instead of [3:48] just subscribing for a month, which is [3:49] way cheaper than just buying the game, [3:51] you know, you get the game plus [3:52] everything else. So, I think they've put [3:55] themselves in a strange place for [3:58] financial success, especially when we [3:59] know like the system in in the race [4:02] against the other consoles, if you want [4:04] to frame it that way, is just not [4:05] selling the same way. Like the Xbox is [4:08] just not selling like the PlayStation or [4:10] now the Switch 2, but I think Switch 2 [4:12] is like in a different place, but that's [4:13] new, right? Um, I think that comparison, [4:17] which we know that's not necessarily [4:19] what drives her sales, but I think is [4:23] part of this puzzle piece as well or as [4:25] a piece of this puzzle as well. Um, and [4:29] it's that that hard line of well, I want [4:34] these studios and Xbox to continue, but [4:36] I also selfishly want game pass to [4:38] continue as it is because it is so [4:40] helpful for being able to play these [4:42] games. I I think I've said it before too [4:44] like if I had Game Pass as a kid in like [4:47] insanity like incredible incredible [4:49] exposure to all these games and that is [4:52] something that I think Phil really built [4:53] on and like really [4:56] nailed with his team was that they [4:57] wanted games to be something that people [4:59] can get into as a hobby when it is [5:01] getting more and more prohibitively [5:02] expensive. I think, you know, of my [5:04] childhood of how many games I had access [5:07] to simply because of money, like how [5:08] much pocket change I had to save just to [5:11] get one game and how long that took and [5:13] how picky you had to be. And the [5:15] ecosystem of games access is changing so [5:19] much as far as like freeto play and [5:22] other experience-based games that Game [5:25] Pass still likens to that free feeling [5:28] in a way. That being said, they still [5:31] make money. So like what you know I I [5:34] think it is a challenge for them to [5:36] solve and I don't know what the solution [5:38] is like that that comes into a financial [5:41] point where I'm like that is beyond me. [5:43] I'm a writer, but um I like I can [5:47] critically analyze that obviously this [5:48] is a problem and but [5:51] because of how volatile like a [5:54] subscriber based [5:57] organization like if you're running this [5:59] massive massive division on subscribers [6:02] that is like a really hard place to be [6:04] if you falter. So yeah. [6:07] >> Yeah. I think the the thing that I go [6:10] back to is a couple of different things. [6:12] So, like last night I downloaded Beat [6:14] Down Survivors. Uh, shout out to my [6:16] friend New Challenger out in the world. [6:18] Um, and knew of that game was like, "Oh, [6:22] I forgot it's on Game Pass. Let me go [6:23] play it and and check it out and go and [6:25] I had a blast with it." And then I wind [6:26] up buying it, right? I use Game Pass as [6:28] a try it before you buy it space, right? [6:30] >> Alongside the day one layer of it that I [6:32] think is really important, right? So I [6:35] am a person who am looking at the [6:37] service as a person who is thinking [6:39] about you know even thinking about the [6:42] kind of good stewardship part that you [6:44] talked about a little bit earlier in in [6:45] the show uh Miranda around like I know [6:48] that there are there are games that [6:50] wouldn't have actually been out in the [6:52] world without Game Pass right [6:53] >> they have been subsidized by the upfront [6:56] money that you wind up getting and they [6:57] wind up bridging the gap between getting [6:59] your thing made or not getting your [7:01] thing made right some of those people [7:04] may not have ever gotten a a a the [7:07] amount of sales that would have been [7:09] able to recoup whatever that development [7:11] cost was for them, right? Then you have [7:13] the Call of Duties who, you know, are [7:15] going to sell no matter what you do. And [7:17] I'm sure that when you think back about [7:19] like how much money they potentially [7:21] didn't make by putting it in Game Pass, [7:23] that might have not been the right [7:24] direction for where that game winds up [7:26] landing in that space. I always think of [7:28] this thing as like one of the things [7:31] that is missing in this era of gaming. [7:33] At least this last genre, not genre, [7:35] this last era of gaming, whatever this [7:37] last um [7:38] >> generation [7:39] >> generation. Thank you. That's the word I [7:40] was looking for. Was that we don't have [7:42] a lot of portfolio curation anymore. And [7:45] I think what game what game pass does is [7:48] open up a space where you are able to [7:50] see and play a variety of things that [7:52] you might not have ever touched before. [7:54] And it might again do that thing of [7:56] being like, "Oh, I want to support these [7:58] folks because they made something dope [7:59] and I think this is really interesting." [8:01] Does it wind up hurting the entire [8:03] industry where we see now some of those [8:06] folks who are in that mix be hurt in a [8:09] in a way that they didn't necessarily [8:10] foresee? Absolutely. But I think we have [8:14] now, like you said, have nine years in. [8:17] I think there's a space where if you are [8:19] now looking at that conversation and you [8:21] go to Xbox and say, "Hey, I want my game [8:23] on your platform, you have enough people [8:26] that you can talk to in the development [8:28] uh uh, you know, community to be like, [8:31] is this you've been a you've made a game [8:33] that's similar to scope that that my [8:34] game is in. How did you see that kind of [8:36] work out for you?" And you can make a [8:38] good decision there to be able to say, [8:40] "Well, maybe this isn't for me and maybe [8:42] I need to do the traditional route and [8:44] go put it on, you know, multiple [8:45] platforms, put it on Steam, put it in [8:47] all these other places where you think [8:48] might give you the most benefit for your [8:51] potential growth on this kind of game." [8:53] I think there's a lot of space that we [8:55] don't know. And again, I I I will also [8:57] raise my hand and be like, I don't know [8:58] anything about how that thing works in [9:00] the back end. You know, I don't know [9:01] what it I haven't made a bisdev deal [9:03] yet. You know what I mean? I haven't [9:04] done that yet. [9:05] >> So, I you know, I don't know. But I do [9:07] think that like there are always going [9:09] to be benefits. I think the thing that [9:11] comes back to all of these conversations [9:13] is that we're still talking about risk, [9:16] right? [9:16] >> Yeah. [9:16] >> And we're still talking about making a [9:18] bet. Phil Spencer made bets, Xbox made [9:22] bets with Don Matrick made bets. Like [9:24] everyone is making bets. The thing that [9:26] we don't know is how many of those [9:28] things are going to pay off, how many [9:29] things are going to tank and then how [9:31] many of those things are going to have [9:32] to be readjusted for again a a moving [9:34] target that is consistently changing [9:37] that consistently changes based on the [9:39] market. No one knew that we were going [9:40] to be in a silicon and AI crisis now [9:43] with with hardware. No one knew that we [9:45] were going to have the COVID part of it [9:46] that I talked about earlier. No one knew [9:48] that Roblox and and Fortnite were going [9:50] to become the biggest things on the [9:52] planet and suck up so much of your time [9:54] alongside social media and Tik Tok and [9:55] all those other layers of stuff. No one [9:57] knew that stuff. You know what I mean? [9:59] So, we're all trying to get in where we [10:01] fit in while also trying to figure out [10:03] where things are going to be and [10:04] forecasting as far as you can. But it's [10:07] all a moving target and those things are [10:09] going to the thing that is the most [10:10] important is how do these companies [10:12] adjust quickly, [10:13] >> right? Can you make like they they made [10:15] that change really fast when they saw, [10:16] oh, we we're hemorrhaging a lot of [10:18] subscribers here. We need to readjust [10:20] that and figure out what that looks [10:21] like. Now, in in in Asha's uh kind of [10:24] new space, she's going to have to [10:26] consistently think about how fast and [10:28] nimble they can move to adjust to all of [10:30] these market changes that are happening [10:32] that are self-imposed, historical from [10:34] the brand and going to be coming in from [10:36] all the things that we're now seeing [10:38] alongside tariffs, alongside weird [10:40] things that are happening across the the [10:42] geopolitical spectrum. All those things [10:44] are going to be tied to the way that [10:45] business works in the video game space [10:48] moving forward. And you can't deny that. [10:49] So that's going to be the space where we [10:51] wind up seeing the most change. And I [10:53] think now that they're being more [10:55] transparent with some of these things [10:57] and ripping the band-aid off, it doesn't [10:59] help the developers who are going to be [11:00] hurt, but it also gives people the space [11:02] to understand what is actually kind of [11:03] happening when these discussions wind up [11:05] popping up. [11:06] >> You I'm glad you mentioned curation [11:08] because uh first and first of all, there [11:11] are definitely there are absolutely [11:13] there are plenty of game pass success [11:15] stories. M I've talked to plenty of [11:16] developers that plenty of them have put [11:18] out press releases where like they've [11:20] been huge on Game Pass, bigger than they [11:23] would have been, you know, without [11:24] without that sort of spotlight on them. [11:27] So, I don't want to I don't want to sit [11:29] here and make it seem like I'm saying [11:31] that Game Pass is this like complete [11:32] total failure. [11:34] >> Game Pass is the devil. No, I'm just [11:35] playing [11:35] >> in any in any sense. But when you I'm so [11:39] glad you brought up curation because [11:42] th I will if you're playing the unlock [11:44] drinking game at home, buckle up. Uh [11:48] this is again like they had a thing that [11:52] they could still bring back [11:55] >> called Xbox Live Arcade. [11:58] >> Oh man. [11:59] >> To your to your point K when you said [12:01] that you use Game Pass to try stuff out. [12:05] >> Yeah. live arcade games. Part of the [12:08] mandate of the program was that every [12:10] live arcade game had a free playable [12:14] demo right right at launch. Like it was [12:16] part of your certification and [12:18] submission process [12:20] >> as part of getting your game out on the [12:22] Xbox Live Arcade platform. [12:24] There is the indie select thing now that [12:26] I get press releases from the PR team [12:29] every now and again about, [12:31] >> but I'm telling you, it's just I think [12:33] Live Arcade [12:35] could still be useful in 2026 and beyond [12:39] given prominent placement. Give it its [12:41] own tab on the dashboard like Game Pass [12:45] has its own tab and you curate that with [12:49] editorially minded voices within [12:52] Microsoft, you know, as it was back in [12:55] the day where when you know you are [12:57] getting a cool selection of like four or [13:00] five games in a given week of like hey [13:03] here's our it's it's live arcade [13:05] Wednesday here's here's what's out you [13:07] know here's what we've got for you this [13:08] week so I just wanted to throw that out [13:10] there um but yeah like I I put this out [13:15] on my social on Twitter the other day [13:19] and I I gotta say I got a ton of really [13:21] great thoughtprovoking Excellent [13:24] responses [13:26] cuz and the thought was is [13:30] and I I've started to bring this up [13:32] earlier and it's is Game Pass. Miranda, [13:36] you you started to go down this road as [13:37] well. I don't know if Game Pass in its [13:40] current form [13:42] is compatible [13:44] with [13:46] the idea of exclusives coming back to [13:48] Xbox. And again, I'm not for anybody [13:51] listening, I'm not trying to say that I [13:53] don't want exclusives back on Xbox. Uh [13:56] cuz it would be cool to have some [13:57] special stuff for the platform again. [13:59] But I just don't know if wi with all of [14:02] these margin challenges that Xbox is [14:05] having, their inability to sell games, [14:07] their inability to sell hardware, [14:11] can you have day one AAA games on your [14:16] your streaming service, your [14:17] subscription service, while also having [14:20] exclusives because I'm just not sure [14:23] that you can make up you can make the [14:25] month the revenue on that work. Like I [14:27] will say for as a pretty uninformed [14:32] perspective cuz I don't you know I don't [14:34] know I don't know exactly how much Gears [14:36] of War Eday costs to make. I know it's [14:39] pretty damn expensive cuz they've been [14:40] working on it for a long time. It's a [14:43] AAA production, but I I do have concern [14:47] about [14:49] the future viability of Gears [14:52] if the like what's the I guess what's [14:55] the metric of success for Gears of War [14:57] Eday when it clearly costs it's going to [15:00] end up costing them a lot of money to [15:01] have made by the time this thing comes [15:03] out, especially when you factor in [15:05] marketing and all that stuff when the [15:07] only place to play it is on the distant [15:11] third place console. console platform [15:14] and on the thankfully growing PC [15:17] platform [15:18] >> like so that's [15:20] and you've got Game Pass. Like are are [15:22] people going to sign up for to for Game [15:25] Pass to play Gears of War eay? They [15:28] might. But are they going to stick [15:29] around for [15:32] three, four, five months or at least at [15:34] least the equivalent price of what it [15:36] would be to purchase the game? Maybe [15:38] not. they might just subscribe for a [15:40] month, maybe two, and then be like, "All [15:43] right, I played my gears, and there's [15:45] nothing else here that I super care [15:46] about right now. I'm out." So, that's [15:49] that's where I'm I don't know the [15:52] answer, but I like we do know Asha said [15:54] in the very beginning when she first [15:56] started that Game Pass would continue to [16:00] evolve and continue to change. And I [16:03] think they're probably trying to figure [16:04] that out right now because I just don't [16:07] see how economically, again, I'm on the [16:10] outside. I don't know their their [16:12] numbers, but it to my layman brain and [16:15] eyes, I just don't see a way for Xbox [16:20] console exclusives [16:22] to coexist with Game Pass having Day One [16:26] AAA new first party releases and for [16:28] that to be any more economically viable [16:31] than the than the mess that they [16:33] currently find themselves in. M [16:36] >> it feels like they have to reckon with [16:38] these two paths that they have that like [16:40] they've went one way, right? With Game [16:42] Pass multiplatform kind of becoming more [16:45] of a [16:48] place to publish games rather than like [16:51] an exclusive console ecos system and [16:54] like we have this as an option if you [16:56] want it. And that's kind of the [16:57] direction they were moving in and now [16:58] they're like wait this isn't popular [17:00] enough like we're losing like fan base [17:02] in some way. like let's completely [17:04] change direction which is what Asha is [17:05] doing but then that kind of is at odds [17:08] with what they were building for the [17:09] past few years right and so it's like [17:12] but how do you like reckon those two [17:14] ideas and I think the unfortunate thing [17:17] I think will lead us into our next topic [17:18] a bit too is shutdowns that is the that [17:21] that is the reckoning is the reckoning [17:23] is well this is it working out in the [17:26] way we wanted financially or how we can [17:30] like like realistically manage what we [17:32] want to do. So, we're going to go [17:34] instead be back in competitive space [17:36] with console, like the console market, [17:38] like we do actually want that and PC [17:41] specifically, and uh refocus how we're [17:43] doing things instead of being a bigger, [17:45] wider kind of almost like publisher [17:49] aligned thing with with with options for [17:52] hardware and accessories. Mhm. [17:55] >> Yeah. I think uh for me I think about my [17:58] usage of game pass in this way and I [18:00] think if you take day one out that [18:03] becomes a much less exciting prospect [18:06] for me. [18:07] >> Day one is the reason why I have game [18:09] pass currently as at this point. It's [18:11] the reason I want it. Um I think the [18:14] potential fix for them could be and this [18:17] is probably not right because I think [18:19] about you know the price of a game is 70 [18:22] bucks. We know that AAA games and and [18:24] kind of your marquee games are going to [18:25] be in that space. You know, I think [18:27] about how much money I've spent on Game [18:29] Pass leading up to when a release is [18:31] happening. And I've already paid for G [18:33] for Gears of Before Eay. If you think [18:35] about what I've paid over the monthly [18:37] time that a game subscription is gone, [18:39] I've paid for eBay already in that way. [18:41] But I do think the people who are coming [18:43] in and saying, "I'm going to do this for [18:45] a shorter amount of time or I'm going to [18:47] buy that subscription, play through it [18:49] really fast, and then and then do that [18:51] thing." That is a worry for a lot of [18:53] folks in that space. I think that [18:54] definitely is a a part of that [18:56] conversation in a way that that doesn't [18:58] necessarily help the bottom line for [19:01] what you want it to be. And that's the [19:02] conundrum that they're always going to [19:04] wind up being in unless they either [19:06] remove day one stuff and give you [19:08] either, you know, if you are subscribed [19:10] to that thing and you're not uh not [19:13] having those day one experiences. Maybe [19:15] potentially because you're a subscriber, [19:17] you offer them a discount [19:19] >> and say, "Hey, you don't have to spend [19:21] 70 bucks on this game because you're a [19:22] subscriber." Maybe we charge you, [19:25] >> right? We charge you 50 for it as [19:26] opposed to the full 70, right? like [19:28] maybe there's a balance there where you [19:31] can kind of figure out some good [19:32] language there which then also again [19:34] keeps your your players a little bit [19:37] happier. You then don't have to think [19:39] about potentially what the the oh this [19:41] game is going to go to uh you know Sony [19:43] in this way even though it probably [19:45] should because you still need the money. [19:47] Um so it's it's really about just like [19:49] how do you balance out the value versus [19:51] what perceived value actual value and [19:53] what do you think is going to be there [19:55] for you when you subscribe to the thing. [19:57] Um, but who knows? Like again, I don't [19:59] know where they're going to go from a [20:01] pricing perspective or a space that's [20:02] going to keep people happy when all of [20:05] this bad uh, you know, these bad vibes [20:07] keep coming out, right? It's hard to [20:09] sell the thing that you want people to [20:10] to enjoy and be excited about while also [20:12] saying, "Hey, the person who just made [20:14] that thing is not even going to be here [20:15] next year or in the next four months." [20:17] Right? That makes that much harder to be [20:18] able to say out loud. [20:21] So, as Miranda alluded, um yeah, all all [20:24] of these all of this grim financial [20:27] outlook and a resetting of the business, [20:30] which is code for layoffs, uh that [20:33] appears to be happening. None of this is [20:36] official yet as of this recording. That [20:39] could change by the time you hear this, [20:42] but uh what we are staring down right [20:44] now are reports of [20:49] Compulsion Games getting shut down, [20:53] Ninja Theory [20:55] getting shut down, and potentially [20:59] Double Fine getting shut down. Um there [21:03] could be more, there could be others. Uh [21:07] these studios, I guess. Let me just let [21:09] me go through go through the news as it [21:12] was here. Um, so Compulsion is seemingly [21:15] the closest one to to actually confirmed [21:19] if it again maybe it is by the time you [21:21] hear this, but [21:23] uh they were founded in '09 by a former [21:25] Arcane developer named Gon Provost, who [21:28] I've met, super nice guy. Uh, they made [21:31] contrast in 2013, which was really good. [21:35] We Happy Few, which a lot of people [21:38] liked a lot. I thought it was [21:39] >> it was an awesome it had so much [21:41] potential. It didn't quite get there for [21:43] me, but uh there was a lot of a lot in [21:45] there. That was 2018. [21:47] >> Gearbox published that back when Gearbox [21:49] was [21:50] >> sort of doing their little [21:51] experimentation as a publisher. [21:53] >> Then Microsoft bought them. Uh and when [21:55] we finally got South of Midnight last [21:58] year, which got excellent reviews, and I [22:01] played a bit of it, that excellent game. [22:03] had had a great time with it. [22:05] >> Award-winning. [22:06] >> Yes, multiple awards. Absolutely. It won [22:09] some awards. So, uh this is Kotaku is [22:12] reporting that the compulsion layoffs [22:14] may total more than 90 staff. Uh just [22:18] months after the studio advertised jobs [22:20] for a new IP. Now, Kotaku said one [22:24] source indicated Compulsion leadership [22:26] is in negotiations with Microsoft over [22:29] the studio's fate. [22:32] And uh that's kind of the same situation [22:35] with Ninja Theory and Double Fine who [22:38] are reportedly [22:41] negotiating with Microsoft to [22:43] potentially go independent. Now that has [22:46] there are all sorts of like big money [22:49] questions that have to get answered is [22:51] you know. Thanks for checking out this [22:52] clip from Unlocked IGN's weekly Xbox [22:55] show. If you enjoyed it, don't forget to [22:57] watch the full episode at [22:58] youtube.com/ignames. [23:01] New episodes of Unlock drop every [23:03] Thursday on IGN Games, IGN.com, and your [23:07] favorite podcast platforms. Thanks for [23:09] watching, and we'll see you next time.