Subscription services have become a big priority for gaming publishers in the 2020s as everyone looks for ways to get a steady stream of revenue. The company by far most aggressive in the pursuit of becoming the “Netflix of gaming†has been Xbox with Xbox Game Pass. Growth amongst the different services was pretty solid for awhile but has recently stagnated. The next 6 months should tell us a lot about how likely it is services can grow again as Xbox is set to flood Game Pass with day 1 games.
The major appeal of Xbox Game Pass for many has always been the day 1 launches. It’s been the main thing differentiating it from the other subscription service options in gaming. And it is a massive selling feature. The problem Xbox has always had is having enough of those day 1 games to truly make a difference. They’ve always had a few great third party releases per year but first party has been a mixed bag. Whether the games have been too far apart or just not enough quality games, it’s put them a bit behind the 8 ball of late.
In theory you only need to put 3-4 games into the service that people want to justify it’s value, which in my opinion they mostly have. But they have rarely exceeded that. People are more likely to buy their games than “rent†them if the value is roughly equal. When a service becomes valuable it’s because the value of what you get out of it far exceeds what you pay. For simplicity sake if you paying $200 (edit: game pass saw a price increase last week so these numbers have gone up) a year for Game Pass and only playing $200-250 worth of games each year doing so you are getting your moneys worth but you can also just buy the games. But if that value suddenly becomes $300?$400?Dare I say $500? Then the value becomes to hard to ignore. And it seems like these next 6 months Xbox is banking on showing you a ton of value and hoping those subs spike.
Game Pass’s Huge Second Half Lineup
Starting July 16th Xbox Game Pass is going to feel like it’s getting new content daily. Flock, Magical Delicacy, Dungeons Of Hinterberg , Flintlock:The Siege Of Dawn and Kunitsu-Gami: The Path Of Goddess all launch day 1 into the service. 5 games in 4 days. And while a couple of those aren’t exactly blockbuster titles, they are still quality indie games mixed with some bigger titles. And while the games don’t keep coming daily the Game Pass lineup is already a long list for the rest of the year.
In August they already have Creatures Of Ava and Sopa lined up. September and beyond the likes of Stalker 2, Frostpunk 2 and 33 Immortals are all slated to launch into the service as well. And this is just all that we know of so far. Games like Replaced and The Alter still might come in 2024. With Xbox as well they typically have a couple of surprise day 1 deals lined up this 10 games in the final 6 months can easily grow to 12-15 titles.
The First Party Machine Is In Full Gear
If you were reading above going “where’s Avowed and Call Of Duty?†Don’t worry I was just going third party above for emphasis. That’s right those 10 games are on top of a first party lineup that is arguably the best Xbox has ever put together in a holiday season (on paper anyway, let’s see if they deliver). Of course all Xbox published games launch into Xbox Game Pass. For the rest of 2024 Xbox first party and publishing is expected to release:
- Age Of Mythology Retold
- Ara History Untold (PC)
- Towerborne
- Flight Sim 2024
- Call Of Duty Black Ops 6
- Indiana Jones And The Great Circle
- Avowed
Add it all up and combine it with the third party list above and you are looking at potentially close to 20 or more games hitting the service day one with many being high profile releases mixed with some great indies. With it only being the last 6 months if you only play 1/4 of those games it’s still incredible value.
But Will It Lead To New Subs?
This is the big question for Xbox themselves. They need subscription numbers to grow. They’ve spent more or less 100 billion dollars on studios and publishers. They need to buck the industry trend and see significant growth. Call Of Duty alone will likely do a lot of heavy lifting.
But let’s take Call Of Duty out of the equation for now. If that list of games can’t move the needle for growth, I’m not sure we ever will see much growth. It’s too strong of a lineup (again on paper). If people can’t find the value in it then perhaps game pass is in need of a reset.
Perhaps they can wait 1 more year with 2025 looking pretty stacked but this lineup should be good enough to move the needle. Either way current Game Pass users will be feasting on a great lineup.
