Microsoft Pays $1 Billion Annually For Third-Party Games On Game Pass

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Smaller Studios Get Paid Upfront With A Promise Of Exposure!

Story Highlight
  • A new report claims Microsoft spends $1 billion every year to bring third-party games to Game Pass. 
  • They reportedly offer a flat fee of millions to smaller devs along with a portion of revenue. 
  • Game Pass serves as an excellent platform for exposure, especially for games from smaller or indie studios. 

Gaming subscriptions are in a weird spot right now. With their growth reportedly stagnant for years, companies, especially Microsoft, have a lot riding on the service. A report states that Microsoft reportedly spends $1 Billion to keep third-party games on Game Pass.

Why it matters: Game Pass has had some mixed reactions from the developers and the audience. Despite that, Microsoft seems to be deeply invested in and spending a lot on its subscription service. 

Xbox Game Pass
Microsoft pays a huge fee to keep third-party games on Game Pass

According to a report by Bloomberg, Microsoft reportedly spends $1 Billion to keep third-party games on Game Pass. They often waste millions of Dollars just to make sure that they have a deal. And they have partnered with some big names over the years.

Microsoft now spends $1 billion a year getting third-party games on the subscription service.

– Bloomberg Report

The report further delves into how Microsoft captures the third-party games for the subscription. For smaller studios, it offers a flat fee of millions upfront to include their titles plus a subscription portion of revenue and exposure to a bigger market. 

Xbox Game Pass
Even with the price increase, Game Pass isn’t a bad value at all

It can also be assessed from the report that the company has a lot of trust in Game Pass. They don’t have a lot going on for them right now. With the fall of Xbox consoles and underwhelming launches, Game Pass is the primary weapon for Microsoft

They are partnered with some big companies incorporating them into the subscription. These include Ubisoft Connect and EA Play, and they even had a partnership with Rockstar for the Grand Theft Auto franchise

But with the growth being stagnant, and the service already under fire for inflating the prices, Microsoft has much to worry about. Despite this, they have a great lineup of first-party games for Game Pass including Black Ops 6, Indiana Jones, and Stalker 2. 

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