Playing Ori Through Game Pass Does Not Benefit Developers, Says Director

Expert Verified By

Asked Fans To Buy Ori on Steam Instead!

Story Highlights
  • The director of the Ori series has asked fans to buy the game on Steam if they want to support Moon Studios.
  • He stated that fans playing the series on Game Pass would not help the team.
  • The developer still admitted that the subscription is quite helpful for smaller teams.

Game Pass is home to 34 million Xbox users. With an assortment of first and third-party AAA releases, this service seeks to revolutionize modern game distribution on consoles and PCs, offering various perks for both developers and consumers.

However, Game Pass downloads might not be too beneficial for the developers themselves if the CEO of Moon Studios is to be believed.

Why it matters: The long-term viability of Game Pass has been a persistent question about the subscription, and this response raises a few more eyebrows about the service.

Moon Studios recently received new attention following the reveal of No Rest For The Wicked. Acknowledging the recent support, CEO Thomas Mahler asked fans to support the team by buying the Ori franchise on Steam.

However, he specifically pointed to Steam purchases. When asked why the CEO did not refer to the game on Xbox platforms, he had a surprising response, pointing to a potential negative of Game Pass.

People get it on Game Pass and that doesn’t help Moon.

-Thomas Mahler

The CEO explained that Game Pass is typically beneficial for smaller teams since it leads to an upfront fee. This is precisely why developers like Round8 Studios found it exciting to launch Lies of P on the service.

However, Moon Studios does not receive much benefit from players using Game Pass to play the Ori series. This also explains why many developers remain doubtful about a future revolving around subscriptions.

Ori and The Will of the Wisps
Ori and The Will of The Wisps Image via Steam

This response highlights the downsides of Microsoft’s reliance on Game Pass for its first-party releases. While the likes of Starfield boasted millions of players last year, the subscription may have limited profits in the long run.

Still, Xbox continues to push for a subscription-based future. The Ori series is also part of the service, and we certainly recommend existing subscribers to try both games since they are among Microsoft’s best first-party releases over the last decade.

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