In the Wake of Xbox Layoffs, Founder of Dishonored and Prey Dev Arkane Slams Game Pass: 'Why Is No-One Talking About the Elephant in the Room?'

Hot connected the heels of the layoffs that person swept done Xbox, the laminitis of Microsoft-owned Arkane Studios has deed retired astatine Game Pass, whose subscription exemplary helium called “unsustainable.”

Raphael Colantonio, who founded the Dishonored and Prey developer and served arsenic its president earlier leaving successful 2017 to commencement Weird West shaper WolfEye Studios, took to societal media to ask: “Why is no-one talking astir the elephant successful the room? Cough cough (Gamepass).”

When asked to grow connected his thoughts connected Game Pass, which Weird West launched consecutive into arsenic a time 1 rubric successful March 2022, Colantonio said: “I deliberation Gamepass is an unsustainable exemplary that has been progressively damaging the manufacture for a decade, subsidized by MS’s ‘infinite money,’ but astatine immoderate constituent world has to hit. I don’t deliberation GP tin co-exist with different models, they’ll either termination everyone else, oregon springiness up.”

Colantonio’s remark sparked a vociferous statement astir the pros and cons of Game Pass successful manufacture presumption arsenic good arsenic for the customer. Microsoft's subscription work has been called galore things implicit the years: the decease of the video crippled industry; the savior of smaller developers who payment greatly from payments made by Microsoft to unafraid their games; and everything successful between. During the large Xbox FTC proceedings to determine the destiny of Microsoft's $69 cardinal aquisition of Call of Duty shaper Activision Blizzard, past PlayStation brag Jim Ryan claimed that helium had talked to "all the publishers" and that, unanimously, they each hated Game Pass "because it is worth destructive." He besides said Microsoft "appears to beryllium losing a batch of wealth connected it."

Back successful 2021, Xbox brag Phil Spencer countered Game Pass doomsayers, saying: "I cognize there's a batch of radical that similar to constitute [that] we're burning currency close present for immoderate aboriginal cookware of golden astatine the end. No. Game Pass is very, precise sustainable close present arsenic it sits. And it continues to grow."

That was 4 years ago. What astir now, successful the aftermath of cuts that person seen Rare's Everwild, the Perfect Dark reboot, and an unannounced MMO successful the works astatine developer down The Elder Scrolls Online each canceled?

Colantonio’s comments were backed by a fig of manufacture peers, including the erstwhile VP of biz dev astatine Epic Games. Michael Douse, publishing manager astatine Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian, said that the biggest interest close present revolves astir what happens erstwhile each that wealth runs out. This, Douse added, is “one of the main economical reasons radical I cognize haven't shifted to its concern model. The infinite wealth happening ne'er made immoderate sense.”

(It’s worthy noting that Baldur’s Gate 3 has truthful acold not launched successful Game Pass oregon PlayStation Plus.)

Colantonio past ridiculed Microsoft’s insistence that launching games into Game Pass did not interaction sales, lone to aboriginal admit the contrary.

Douse responded to to accidental helium prefers the Sony mode of doing things. Sony’s PlayStation Plus argumentation is to support first-party games disconnected the subscription work astatine launch, lone adding them immoderate clip later. That’s wherefore you won’t spot this year’s Sony’s Ghost of Yotei motorboat consecutive into PS Plus, but you volition spot Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 arsenic a time 1 Game Pass launch.

“The economics ne'er made sense, but astatine the aforesaid clip I bash admit that for smaller teams with caller oregon riskier IPs it helped derisk,” Douse said. “Much similar Sony's 'lifecycle management' strategy.”

"Yeah, the lone mode GP tin co-exist without hurting everyone is for the backmost catalogue," Colantonio concluded.

Reports person indicated that Microsoft’s layoffs were much astir the company’s high-profile propulsion into AI than immoderate failing with the gaming business, but Colantonio suggested this was “a bs excuse.”

He past went connected to importune that “the maths don’t enactment for astir publishers/devs nor for Xbox erstwhile they halt investing.”

Colantonio was besides asked wherefore Microsoft would proceed to propulsion Game Pass if it were unsustainable, adjacent now, 8 years aft it launched. He responded to accidental that Game Pass isn’t profitable, Microsoft is inactive successful the "customer acquisition phase", and the institution hopes that 1 day, subscription gross volition marque its important concern wage off.

Colantonio explained that Game Pass connected its ain cannot beryllium considered profitable due to the fact that you request to origin successful the billions of dollars Microsoft has spent acquiring contented for the subscription service, and helium includes Bethesda proprietor ZeniMax and Activision Blizzard successful that equation. “It’s a spreadsheet instrumentality wherever they don’t enactment that item successful a nett and nonaccomplishment section, but alternatively successful the amortization implicit time,” helium claimed.

Game Pass is of people an unthinkable woody for the gamer that lets subscribers dip successful and retired of a agelong database of games for a fraction of the outgo of buying those games standalone. Game Pass is often said to beryllium excessively bully to beryllium existent due to the fact that of however inexpensive it is comparative to what it offers. When you propulsion successful each crippled Microsoft has connected its books arsenic a time 1 Game Pass motorboat (Call of Duty included), the woody feels adjacent better.

For Colantonio, though, the Game Pass woody is “too good.”

“What *might* hap erstwhile MS has won: the games volition commencement to suck and your sub volition spell up,” helium added. “Why? Because the existent astonishing woody you person is subsided by MS bleeding wealth into it with the anticipation they’ll termination the competition, but erstwhile they negociate to bash it, things volition get real.”

He added: “... it’s a agelong crippled that involves throwing a tsunami astatine the full ecosystem of the industry. Only the gamers similar it due to the fact that the connection is excessively bully to beryllium true, but yet adjacent gamers volition hatred it erstwhile they recognize the effects connected the games.”

Microsoft does not study connected the occurrence of Game Pass either mode successful fiscal terms. Indeed, its reporting connected its gaming concern is vague astatine best. In its past fiscal study (for the 4th ending March 31, 2025), Microsoft said Xbox contented and services grew 8% year-over-year, which was successful portion owed to maturation successful Xbox Game Pass. PC Game Pass gross accrued 45% year-over-year. But we don’t person an updated fig for however galore subscribers Game Pass has, nor however overmuch wealth it brings in.

In an April interrogation with Variety, Microsoft gaming brag Phil Spencer was asked however helium views Game Pass’s ongoing relation successful the larger Xbox business. Spencer replied to accidental helium thinks astir Game Pass arsenic “a steadfast enactment for definite people,” but admitted “it’s not for everybody.”

“Our biggest areas of maturation close present are PC and Cloud, which makes sense, since consoles, each up, are a bully business, they’re an established business, but they’re not truly a increasing conception successful gaming," helium said.

"So we’ve got bully maturation connected PC, we’ve got maturation connected Cloud, successful presumption of users and hours. And console continues to beryllium a truly steadfast portion of Game Pass. But determination isn’t a unsocial request for Game Pass to beryllium the lone mode for radical to play. If everybody who’s a Game Pass subscriber alternatively decided to bargain their games, that’s bully for the concern arsenic well.

“For me, I look astatine Game Pass arsenic a steadfast enactment for definite people. It’s not for everybody. If you play 1 oregon 2 games a year, Game Pass astir apt isn’t the close concern exemplary for you, you should conscionable bargain those 2 games, and that would marque full sense. But I privation you to person the choice. So we stay focused connected everything that’s connected Game Pass is besides disposable to buy. We’re making those games disposable to bargain successful much places.

“And I look astatine the wide hours of radical who are playing connected Xbox, playing our games, and that’s a fig that continues to turn reasonably substantially, and that’s truly the metric I deliberation astir for success. And Game Pass has been an important portion of that, but I don’t effort to lick for Game Pass specifically connected its own. It’s benignant of portion of the equation for Xbox uncovering caller players.”

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].