A former Microsoft PR manager claims that Palworld’s success is insufficient to propel Game Pass’s success.
Xbox’s Game Pass subscription program, which gives users access to a vast library of games akin to Netflix for a fair monthly charge, completely changed the gaming business when it debuted in 2018. Many publishers even copied the idea for their own platforms, including Sony, a direct competitor.
Even though the service appears to be user-friendly, its initial explosive expansion has slowed down over the past several years, and it has even missed its growth projections on a repeated basis. Microsoft has reiterated its dedication to the service, but there are still doubts about its long-term viability.
Game Pass Is Not Seen As Serious By Former Microsoft PR Head
In a recent LinkedIn article, Brad Hilderbrand, the former PR lead for Microsoft, discussed Game Pass’s declining growth over time and questioned if it can recoup its initial velocity in the absence of a significant overhaul. Every game that comes on the site “badly misses its sales goals,” according to him, making it the “biggest paradox” with the platform.
Hilderbrand used smaller titles like Hi-Fi Rush as an example to illustrate this problem. These games have a brief period of early success, but as soon as the “new game” focus goes away, player interest quickly declines. Despite having a rocky debut, even larger releases like Redfall don’t make much of an impact.
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As a result, titles like Hi-Fi Rush—which is amazing, by the way—get a meager income boost from being the most popular Game Pass title for a month, but after that, they stagnate as players go on to other things. Because Redfall launched so violently, it never had a chance, which made its situation even worse, according to Hilderbrand.
Hilderbrand’s arguments make it quite evident that Game Pass needs a change in direction. The $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year has increased focus on the service, which was previously a low priority within Microsoft. The pressure is on Xbox to prove that the large expenditure was worthwhile, and Hilderbrand thinks that drawing in “the biggest games in the world” is the secret to reviving subscription growth.