Rather than being the future of gaming it seems services like Game Pass and PS Plus are suffering the same problems as TV subscriptions.
For a while there it seemed like you were going to need a subscription for everything, especially media like TV, movies, music, and video games. But, as you will have noticed, the wheels are starting to come off services like Netflix and Disney+ and the same is true of Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus.
Although at one point Game Pass was being positioned as the killer app for Xbox – a service such good value for money that none could resist – it’s become obvious for some time that it’s not had quite that impact. There are various reasons for this but one of the simplest is that no matter how many games you have access to you don’t have time to play them all.
There have been reports for years of Game Pass missing its internal targets and now industry analyst Mat Piscatella claims that not only have subscription sales stalled but that at the same time traditional sales of AAA games have done ‘exceptionally well’ in 2023.
It has been a very good year for big name releases, with the last few weeks alone seeing the likes of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, Street Fighter 6, and Diablo 4 confirmed not only as major critical hits but the most successful entries in their respective franchises.
According to Piscatella’s data, spending on subscriptions in April 2023, in the US, was up only 2% on the previous year, suggesting that services have reached a ceiling and that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find new subscribers.
There are various reasons posited for why this should be, with the most obvious being that no matter how many games they have access to people still only have the same amount of time to play them, i.e. not very much.
It’s becoming clear that people would rather spend their precious leisure time on the hottest new games, rather than just whatever happens to be on Game Pass or PS Plus. Especially given the price of those games tends to fall very quickly at retail.
There’s also the issue that Game Pass, in particular, is becoming more expensive, especially after Microsoft withdrew its famous £1 deal (and equivalents around the world).
Plus, there’s the problem, from Microsoft’s point of view, that games being on Game Pass reduces the likelihood that people buy them at full price.
Microsoft has always been a greater advocate of subscription services than Sony, with much of the logic behind buying Activision Blizzard revolving around getting Call Of Duty on Game Pass.
In that sense Game Pass’ biggest test has not yet happened, as Microsoft has never really had a game as anticipated as Diablo or Zelda, or a major PlayStation exclusive, on its service.
This year’s Starfield may be that game and it will certainly be a big test for Game Pass and the subscription concept in general. Although how its subscription numbers fair in the months after its initial launch that be the most important factor.
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