By Kaan Serin
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Former PlayStation boss says subscription services like Xbox Game Pass could become “dangerous” for devs, and that Sony delivers a “healthier” model with PS Plus
“A giant black hole sucking everything in, and spitting out bones”: Devs react with anger and concern as yet more Microsoft layoffs see huge cuts and cancellations at game studios
“It is very worth having your game on Game Pass”: As debut RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 passes 1 million sales, Palworld dev defends the decision to launch on Xbox’s subscription service
“Pick your lane and stick to it”: Former Blizzard president says it’s “tough to see Xbox confused” amid “this is an Xbox” branding: “They have to figure out what needs to change… and fast”
Viral FPS dev hits back at “dead on arrival” comments and says it will never add microtransactions: “We don’t need to sell millions of copies. We don’t need millions of players online at once”
“It’s terrifying”: CEO behind ex-Helldivers, WoW devs’ new studio says it’s a “silly,” “ridiculous” time to create a new studio, but someone needs to stop “ignoring 52% of the world population”
Third Person Shooters
Xbox puts a bandage over its latest self-inflicted gaping wound with Helldivers 2 coming to Xbox Series X next month – inexplicably on the same day as Gears of War: Reloaded
Stealth Games
Dishonored and Prey studio founder thinks Xbox Game Pass “is an unsustainable model” that’s been “damaging the industry for a decade”
Kaan Serin
6 July 2025
Arkane’s founder reckons the service will “either kill everyone else, or give up”
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(Image credit: Xbox)
Arkane Studios might now be an Xbox-owned studio, but its original founder has expressed concerns about the impacts that Xbox Game Pass is having on the industry.
Raphael Colantonio founded the developer behind imsim heavyweights like Dishonored, Prey, the failed Redfall, and the upcoming Marvel’s Blade decades ago, before the studio was eventually sold to Microsoft as part of its Bethesda acquisition, meaning it’s now another gear in the megacorp’s subscription service strategy.
But Colantonio recently tweeted Game Pass “is an unsustainable model that has been increasingly damaging the industry for a decade, subsidized by MS’s ‘infinite money’, but at some point reality has to hit.” His main concern is that he doesn’t think Game Pass can “co-exist with other models” since the service will “either kill everyone else, or give up,” which would inevitably lead to more Xbox studio closures.
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Former PlayStation boss says subscription services like Xbox Game Pass could become “dangerous” for devs, and that Sony delivers a “healthier” model with PS Plus
“A giant black hole sucking everything in, and spitting out bones”: Devs react with anger and concern as yet more Microsoft layoffs see huge cuts and cancellations at game studios
“It is very worth having your game on Game Pass”: As debut RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 passes 1 million sales, Palworld dev defends the decision to launch on Xbox’s subscription service
That’s certainly what happened to the movie industry – the general public aren’t concerned about owning the movies that are just available on streaming services anymore – though recent sales successes, including Expedition 33 and Oblivion Remastered, have proven games can sell well and launch into the service. Whether that can last forever is another question.
“It’s a long game that involves throwing a tsunami at the entire ecosystem of the industry,” he added. “Only the gamers like it because the offer is too good to be true, but eventually even gamers will hate it when they realize the effects on the games.”
“Other industries have different ratio cost content / sales. But even then, users enjoy Spotify because of the value proposition, but it is a horrible model for musicians, it only works for Spotify and the huge musicians and the major labels who have a stake in Spotify.”
Despite those concerns, there’s still a ton of games dropping into the service soon. We’ll see how Grounded 2, The Outer Worlds 2, Hollow Knight Silksong, and the next Call of Duty fare later this year.
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Freelance contributor
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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Former PlayStation boss says subscription services like Xbox Game Pass could become “dangerous” for devs, and that Sony delivers a “healthier” model with PS Plus
“A giant black hole sucking everything in, and spitting out bones”: Devs react with anger and concern as yet more Microsoft layoffs see huge cuts and cancellations at game studios
“It is very worth having your game on Game Pass”: As debut RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 passes 1 million sales, Palworld dev defends the decision to launch on Xbox’s subscription service
“Pick your lane and stick to it”: Former Blizzard president says it’s “tough to see Xbox confused” amid “this is an Xbox” branding: “They have to figure out what needs to change… and fast”
Viral FPS dev hits back at “dead on arrival” comments and says it will never add microtransactions: “We don’t need to sell millions of copies. We don’t need millions of players online at once”
“It’s terrifying”: CEO behind ex-Helldivers, WoW devs’ new studio says it’s a “silly,” “ridiculous” time to create a new studio, but someone needs to stop “ignoring 52% of the world population”
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