Hehe the arguments in this thread are silly. Is the only value for MS of GP the cash they get from it? Er. No, actually. Let's not forget that Xbox has a lot of things that it cares about. Let's think about it for a bit.
The benefits to Xbox, MS, their partners, and players go beyond just the initial cash influx. Gears has done its job. Hundreds of thousands/millions will keep their subscriptions to play TOW or Reach or Ori or any number of new and loved 3rd party games. As MS gears up for Scarlett, game pass, with its positive press and gamer good will, has already been wildly successful - no matter how much cash it makes.
Does Ms care about money? Of course. I think everyone can agree that if they get millions of subscribers at full price, the math easily makes sense. But, the sticking point is that a lot of people are not paying full price, right? Lots of people will stay subscribed. But lots of people won't.
OK.. So? Let's game this out. Let's pretend that everyone paid $2 and everyone is gonna cancel on 2 months, and thus MS is making no money whatsoever from this game. Completely impossible, and yet.. I would argue there still lots of value to MS. What are the benefits of having a ton of people play this game at launch?
The game's launch is bigger. How many people played SOD2 or Crackdown or 3rd party stuff like Outer Wilds and Void Bastards simply because they were available? I certainly did. Gears will be able to say it's the biggest launch ever in the history of gears. They may end up with comparable player numbers as mega hits like God of War and Spiderman. Considering where Xbox is now, that would be INCREDIBLE. That has many more benefits for the game too. We're talking about much larger player bases, and with faster matchmaking. It also means WAY more people are talking about your game. Especially when it's a great game like gears. Word of mouth expands immensely. That helps with the perception of the game, it helps with sales, it helps with game pass (which, again, in this extreme hypothetical makes no money).
This ALSO boosts the Xbox brand overall. It increases the prestige of the entire ecosystem with every new popular game on the platform. Every new game reinforces the idea that this ecosystem is with investing in overall. Your progress is here. Your friends' progress is here. Your achievements are here.
Also, every gamepass use is engagement in the ecosystem. You only have gamepass for a month or two? Well, you might as well play a few more games while you have the service right? That's a month or two where you are gonna play a lot more on MS platforms than you usually do. (I know that because if you are regularly on the platform already, you should really just stay subscribed if you can). That's a month or two where you're statistically spending more time playing games (in general), interacting with people online, getting achievements. That's a month or two where you're making the experience better for everyone else on the platform (assuming you're not a dick), as you provide a body for player base and matchmaking.
Tired yet? We're not done. Again, none of these benefits make any direct money from a game pass sub, but surely you can see why they are valuable.
All of this ALSO just gets you into the store in the first place. You know? The platforms that tons of people would NEVER have touched for a second, let alone 2 months. That's valuable for all of MS, not just for Xbox. Maybe you think it's stupid and ineffectual because you don't buy anything. Sure. But remember the biggest hurdle for most people is even knowing the store exists and then launching it. With all of these people, Xbox is teaching them how to use the store and getting them comfortable with seeing it as a legitimate platform - not necessarily the best one - but a real one that you are fine with using. That's huge. Changing perceptions is slow and expensive. They're doing it.
Also.. Lots of people here bragging about canceling game pass have said that they have signed up multiple times over time. That's great for MS (and for every sub service). Recurring engagement shows that their pitches are working, their games are enticing, and that ppl are getting comfortable using the service. That shows everything I've said earlier, and it helps facilitate that for other people that see that happening.
This helps devs too, especially third party. If you're able to bring people into gamepass, that makes you immensely valuable to MS. Means they're more likely to pay top dollar for your stuff. And of course, the more people coming in for Gears who then discover Ori and Edith Finch and Gardens Between, the better for everyone.
And again. NONE OF THESE benefits has anything to do the money that game pass subscriptions bring in. The strategy here is apparently so far beyond what most people have even begun to consider. Does game pass need to make money? Yes, of course. Does it need to make more money in September than it would have if it sold only full price? No. (It still might do pretty well, but it doesn't have to.)
OK.. So? Let's game this out. Let's pretend that everyone paid $2 and everyone is gonna cancel on 2 months, and thus MS is making no money whatsoever from this game. Completely impossible, and yet.. I would argue there still lots of value to MS. What are the benefits of having a ton of people play this game at launch?
The game's launch is bigger. How many people played SOD2 or Crackdown or 3rd party stuff like Outer Wilds and Void Bastards simply because they were available? I certainly did. Gears will be able to say it's the biggest launch ever in the history of gears. They may end up with comparable player numbers as mega hits like God of War and Spiderman. Considering where Xbox is now, that would be INCREDIBLE. That has many more benefits for the game too. We're talking about much larger player bases, and with faster matchmaking. It also means WAY more people are talking about your game. Especially when it's a great game like gears. Word of mouth expands immensely. That helps with the perception of the game, it helps with sales, it helps with game pass (which, again, in this extreme hypothetical makes no money).
This ALSO boosts the Xbox brand overall. It increases the prestige of the entire ecosystem with every new popular game on the platform. Every new game reinforces the idea that this ecosystem is with investing in overall. Your progress is here. Your friends' progress is here. Your achievements are here.
Also, every gamepass use is engagement in the ecosystem. You only have gamepass for a month or two? Well, you might as well play a few more games while you have the service right? That's a month or two where you are gonna play a lot more on MS platforms than you usually do. (I know that because if you are regularly on the platform already, you should really just stay subscribed if you can). That's a month or two where you're statistically spending more time playing games (in general), interacting with people online, getting achievements. That's a month or two where you're making the experience better for everyone else on the platform (assuming you're not a dick), as you provide a body for player base and matchmaking.
Tired yet? We're not done. Again, none of these benefits make any direct money from a game pass sub, but surely you can see why they are valuable.
All of this ALSO just gets you into the store in the first place. You know? The platforms that tons of people would NEVER have touched for a second, let alone 2 months. That's valuable for all of MS, not just for Xbox. Maybe you think it's stupid and ineffectual because you don't buy anything. Sure. But remember the biggest hurdle for most people is even knowing the store exists and then launching it. With all of these people, Xbox is teaching them how to use the store and getting them comfortable with seeing it as a legitimate platform - not necessarily the best one - but a real one that you are fine with using. That's huge. Changing perceptions is slow and expensive. They're doing it.
Also.. Lots of people here bragging about canceling game pass have said that they have signed up multiple times over time. That's great for MS (and for every sub service). Recurring engagement shows that their pitches are working, their games are enticing, and that ppl are getting comfortable using the service. That shows everything I've said earlier, and it helps facilitate that for other people that see that happening.
This helps devs too, especially third party. If you're able to bring people into gamepass, that makes you immensely valuable to MS. Means they're more likely to pay top dollar for your stuff. And of course, the more people coming in for Gears who then discover Ori and Edith Finch and Gardens Between, the better for everyone.
And again. NONE OF THESE benefits has anything to do the money that game pass subscriptions bring in. The strategy here is apparently so far beyond what most people have even begun to consider. Does game pass need to make money? Yes, of course. Does it need to make more money in September than it would have if it sold only full price? No. (It still might do pretty well, but it doesn't have to.)
The benefits to Xbox, MS, their partners, and players go beyond just the initial cash influx. Gears has done its job. Hundreds of thousands/millions will keep their subscriptions to play TOW or Reach or Ori or any number of new and loved 3rd party games. As MS gears up for Scarlett, game pass, with its positive press and gamer good will, has already been wildly successful - no matter how much cash it makes.