- Recent sales data reveals that Gears E-Day sales were heavily affected by Game Pass.
- Xbox should, in certain cases, consider skipping day 1 releases on the service.
- If they want to sell consoles and generate high revenue, this is the logical way forward.
Xbox marked its big return to exclusives under the leadership of Asha Sharma. Gears of War E-Day would be the first major title to skip a PS5 release after most of its major IPs, like Halo, Forza, and more, were announced for the platform.
Gears of War E-Day released earlier this week, hitting around 30K peak players on Steam. Additionally, despite being among the top sellers on Xbox, the sales weren’t too promising on the platform, primarily due to Game Pass.
Recent sales data revealed that the title sold just around 62K copies on Xbox, whereas Game Pass had a massive 1.7 million players. However, almost half of these players paid $30 to play the early access.
This still shows that people were more interested in playing the title using Game Pass rather than going for the full-priced version, which obviously leads to reduced revenue, so should Xbox still be doing day 1 exclusives on the service?
Why it matters: Since players know that the exclusives will launch day 1 on Game Pass, they don’t really need to purchase them at full price, considering that most Xbox users already have a Game Pass subscription.
Game Pass is Eating Into Xbox Game Sales
Gears E-Day is just a small snippet in the broader image. Because Xbox users don’t really have to spend the $70 due to all their games being on Game Pass, they normally just skip buying them and play them on the service.
Let’s not go too far back and take Doom: The Dark Ages as an example. id Software replicated the formula they had with Doom Eternal and multiplied it, making it an exceptionally fast-paced, fun experience.
That too was a day 1 Game Pass, and the metrics that Xbox used to measure its success were ‘3 million’ players, and if you are anyone from the tech industry, you’ll know a company doesn’t reveal sales; it means they’re low.
Now, there was absolutely no reason for players to not buy Doom: The Dark Ages at $70, since the franchise has a huge fan following and it is one of Xbox’s oldest and most successful IPs, but again, it was on Game Pass.
So, the service, just like Gears, ate into its sales as well. The same could be said for Indiana Jones: The Great Circle, which was somewhat of a commercial success, but could’ve been a lot more if it weren’t for subscriptions.
The only title that seems not to have been compromised by Game Pass in recent years is Forza Horizon 6. But that is understandable, considering it’s not a story game that’s done and dusted; it is meant for replayability.
Xbox Should Skip Day 1 Game Pass Releases… Well, Kind of
Okay, so the biggest question now is, since Game Pass is cannibalizing Xbox game sales, should they pull out of day 1 releases? The answer isn’t really as simple as just saying, yes, they absolutely should; rather, it’s a bit nuanced.
In my opinion, with bigger names like Doom, Halo, Fable, and more, Xbox should indeed move away from releasing them on day 1. These games are major growth and revenue drivers, and it’s getting compromised.
There is a reason that Sony doesn’t put its tentpole PlayStation games on PS Plus, and they only arrive a year later or even more in certain cases. These titles push people towards buying consoles, generating profits.
Under Phil Spencer, it was highly anticipated that Xbox would be quitting the hardware business soon, but Sharma assured that it is still their priority, with Helix expected to be coming out as early as late 2027.
And if Xbox wants to continue selling consoles, which it currently isn’t based on recent sales reports, they have to make sure people have a reason to get them. And that means great exclusive titles.
They can, of course, still do it with Game Pass too, but when they won’t be available on the platform, it will give people a sense of high exclusivity and will drive them to pay the full $70 for the title, earning them great revenue.
However, I think smaller and original Xbox titles that don’t have a formed fan base can still release day 1. This could include titles like Hi-Fi Rush, which sadly isn’t owned by Xbox anymore, but you get the point.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, they don’t seem like they’re currently in a place where they can skip PC releases. Since Microsoft owns Windows, and it is the default platform for the majority, it wouldn’t make much sense either.
Anyhow, it seems like it’s high time Xbox stops putting its primary exclusive franchises on Game Pass on day 1, considering the service’s growth has stagnated, and it cannibalizes sales and hence the revenue generated from it.
It is, of course, still good enough for smaller titles that need to get exposure, but for bigger IPs and projects, they should take the Sony route and just release them as exclusive full games on the store.
This won’t be great for consumers, but for the company, it could push them beyond the line. Xbox has been in a rough spot in recent years, but it’s finally improving, and it should take the necessary steps to grow further.
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News Reporter
Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.
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