Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden has just offered a new set of comments on Microsoft’s subscription model, Xbox Game Pass. Since its launch in 2017, Xbox Game Pass has offered gamers a subscription-based model that lets them pay a monthly fee for access to hundreds of games. The service also offers a bevy of day-one game releases, with Microsoft most notably releasing all of its first-party games (including those from its fellow owned publishers, Bethesda and Activision) on the service immediately.
While the service was initially popular, concerns have since been raised about Xbox Game Pass’s overall sustainability. With notable price increases and reported lost revenue for including games in the service, questions have circulated regarding whether Xbox Game Pass has hit its ceiling or can continue to be an attractive value for new and returning players. Thus, Xbox faces tremendous pressure to prove that the service is worthwhile, especially ahead of the release of its next platform, Project Helix.
Putting Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass Reportedly Cost Microsoft $300 Million in Sales
Call of Duty’s availability on Xbox Game Pass has apparently cost the company, with Microsoft losing $300 million in potential sales.
Shawn Layden Offers Grim Thoughts on Xbox Game Pass Amid Price Concerns
Commenting on a LinkedIn post, Shawn Layden offered his thoughts on Xbox Game Pass and its future in the gaming industry. In his comment, Layden says that Xbox is “trying so hard to will this into health, despite unfavorable diagnostics and a grim prognosis.” He later notes that, instead of continuing to push the service any further than it’s already gone, “A clarifying post mortem would do the entire industry some good.”
Layden’s comments come in the wake of an internal memo sent to Xbox employees by new CEO Asha Sharma, explaining that Xbox Game Pass has become too expensive for gamers to subscribe to. Indeed, the service has seen multiple price increases in recent years, with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plan controversially increasing its price to $29.99 a month before the end of 2025. What’s more, reports have swirled that Xbox gave up more than $300 million in potential sales to the ever-popular Call of Duty franchise by including it in the subscription.
This is far from the first time Shawn Layden has discussed Xbox Game Pass, as the former PlayStation boss admitted his concerns about the business model last year. Layden echoed a common concern about the “Netflix of gaming” model Game Pass strives for, and feels that developers become “wage slaves” by putting games on the service. Layden’s sentiments are not uncommon among those in the industry, as even former Xbox staff members have expressed concerns about whether the Game Pass model sufficiently supports and compensates the developers that release games on it.
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Furthermore, Layden’s comments may be indicative of a greater issue with the Xbox brand as a whole. Beyond increasing Game Pass prices, Xbox has undergone numerous layoffs, raised the prices of its consoles, and started bringing games from its largest franchises to its competitor platform, the PlayStation 5. This difficult period has culminated in CEO Phil Spencer’s retirement and president Sarah Bond’s resignation. Thus, the Xbox brand is entering some of its most uncertain times yet, ahead of the release of Project Helix, and Layden’s latest comments only raise further questions about the brand’s future.
Source: Respawn First
