LogIn"I look at Game Pass as a healthy option for certain people."
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Every time news about new games coming to Xbox Game Pass appears, it means the value of membership in the subscription service is increased — a favored moment for members for sure and a new attraction for those who are considering becoming one. It wouldn't hurt Microsoft if players didn't consider it an option, as the company believes XGP is "not for everybody."
In an interview with Variety, Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, discussed the service's role. He sees it as "just another option for somebody who wants to play," along with other business models, including free-to-play, paid games, and discounted games.
"So when I’m looking at Game Pass, I want to make sure the hours that people are playing continue to go up, that new people see this as a way for them to find and build their library of games, and we remain focused on that."
He doesn't see the need for players to stick only with Game Pass; instead, if subscribers decide to purchase games to play, it would also be good for the overall business.
"For me, I look at Game Pass as a healthy option for certain people. It’s not for everybody. If you play one or two games a year, Game Pass probably isn’t the right business model for you, you should just buy those two games, and that would make total sense. But I want you to have the choice," Spencer said.
For Xbox, a signal of a healthy business is the continuous and substantial growth of players' playing hours on the platform, "that's really the metric I think about for success."
In the current console race, Xbox is behind, with Xbox Series X/S sold around half as much as PlayStation 5 in 2024. Earlier this year, Phil Spencer said that he wanted the Xbox to "win based on the hardware capabilities that we have."
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