It is fair to say that Game Pass has been a revolution for the gaming industry ever since its release. Like many streaming services, the ability to try and complete something before buying can make a big difference. Some people still like to assume that game pass cut down on developers’ profits because people don’t buy the games, but there is evidence against this line of thought. Game Pass Boosts Sales Instead Of Decreasing, Says Reboot Develop, and when we look at the data, it yields exciting results.
Summary
- Game Pass is easily one of the biggest boosts to sales and actual playtime in the video game industry.
- Reboot Develop verified this by showcasing the sales graph pre-and post-Game Pass for Everspace 2.
- This information could have larger implications for the video game industry and all players worldwide.
The concept of the streaming service has been around for quite a while at this point, but it’s only been within the last few years that we really started to see it hit the gaming world. But since Microsoft came out with its Game Pass service, things have been completely different. People now don’t need to risk $30-$60 on again that they might not play or enjoy playing when instead, they can test it out it even go for the whole game first. This variety and price is a wonderful thing for players but has often ended up in arguments in the community about how it affects sales.
The commonplace argument is that because people can get games for free with a Game Pass, they no longer need to buy games. This decrease in sales and decreases profits across the entire video game industry. The problem with this theory is not only does this seem to be not happening, but the opposite effect is occurring.
The Twitter channel Reboot Develop recently came out on Twitter and roughly disclosed the sales figures of Everspace 2 via a chart, which was picked up by @ Reboot. The chart includes the time before the game was listed on the game pass and the time after it was listed on the game pass.
Not only was there no real discernible dip in sales, but the whole day seemed to increase. It is also easy to say that this was in no small part due to the access they gave past providers.
He also said Game Pass (PC) was good and didn't effect sales, in fact they were HIGHER.
This aligns with what Microsoft has said in the past but people want to tell you isn't true. pic.twitter.com/n6QHEdYRMH
— Dave @ Reboot (@DaveOshry) April 24, 2023
You have to keep in mind the fact that Everspace 2 does not come from a huge publisher. Rockfish Games is only known for the two Everspace games, and that is it. Because of this, we can see how Game Pass can affect and help smaller companies.
Some people will still have a hard time because this doesn’t seem to make sense to them. Why would anyone buy a game that They can get for free? The answer is that Game Pass offers a discount on purchasing the title you’re playing.
This discount helps to encourage sales among players that use Game Pass and love the game. This desire is also true because games sometimes disappear from the Game Pass, even for only a few months. That fear of missing out often drives players to want to purchase their favorite games.
Another essential factor that helps make Game Pass profitable is that, like many streaming services, the devs get paid for the time and time you play the game. It may not be as good as a $60 upfront charge, but on the whole, you can still you’ll profit in the long run.
Plus, if the developer makes a good game that garners even a smaller audience, that becomes a continuous source of revenue for the company. We also can’t forget about things like DLC and Additional content. They help dry The profits up on these games.
So not only is game pass fantastic for developers to get their games out in front of people and sustain a lasting audience. It turns out that they can make a profit from this as well. Because of this, I suspect that we will start to see game passes being implemented more and more in future I’ll games.
It’s not like game sales are ever not going to be the priority because the gaming Industry itself makes more money than the film industry and music industry put together. That is an anonymous amount of money, and given the growing audience for gaming, it is unlikely to be decreasing anytime soon. This success is likely why we will see more developers and even other companies Focus on the Game Pass to get the products out front of people.
Now does this have the potential to have a downside like what we have seen with the streaming industry? It is possible but not likely that we would see developers and publishers making their gaming apps. For one thing, they do not have the hardware for mass distribution. EA has no interest in making its console because why would it want to compete with Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo?
There’s also the considerable factor the reason that something like a pass works is because of the variety of content that it has. The sheer volume of games even a major publisher would have to put out to compensate for that is untenable.
No gaming company could put out enough high-quality games to sustain that quickly. Even Microsoft has multiple gaming companies under its belt. I don’t mean sub-studios; I mean full-on gaming companies with their IPs
So Game Pass services will remain in the hands of major hardware and distribution companies for now. This is a bad thing for us developers because we have a larger inventory of games to play, and they are seeing their games by more people. Only time will tell what this will look like, but we will be sure to keep an eye on it.
That is all we have on the fact that Game Pass Boosts Sales Instead Of Decreasing, Says Reboot Develop. Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Also Read: EA’s New F1 Game Will Be Out In June.
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Jace loves both video games and writing, so he thought the best career was to write about video games. He attended Full Sail University and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing. He joined Gamsual in 2022, and when not covering video game news, he is often building and strategizing in simulation and RTS games. Xbox: Alchemist5966