A few years ago Microsoft decided to change the way they operated the Xbox ecosystem, opting to focus on its Game Pass subscription service. According to Microsoft themselves, this move was successful, with the service now officially boasting over 25 million monthly subscribers. Despite this, leaks are claiming that Sony does not internally view Game Pass as competition for PlayStation.
As reported by industry insider Tom Henderson (via Insider Gaming), Head of PlayStation Jim Ryan recently hosted an employee Q&A session where in response to a question surrounding Xbox Game Pass, Ryan reportedly replied:
“When we consider Game Pass, it seems to be getting lower [Game Pass numbers]. When we consider Game Pass, we've sold more PS5's in two years than they have gathered subscribers and they've been doing that for 6-7 years. We're just shy of 50 million subscribers and they are in the low 20s, but there's more work to do to grow that number.”
While this statement (as with all leaks) should be taken with a pinch of salt, if true, this position differs quite drastically from Sony’s official stance on the service, with them previously saying (as part of the ongoing Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard):
“Game Pass leads PlayStation Plus significantly. Microsoft already has a substantial lead in multi-game subscription services. Game Pass has 29 million subscribers to Xbox Game Pass Console and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and is expected to grow substantially in the future. The multi-game subscription tiers of PlayStation Plus considerably lag, with fewer than [redacted] the number of subscribers.”
It will be interesting to see whether Sony chooses to respond to this leak or not – especially considering the current volatility of the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
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KitGuru says: What do you think of this statement? Do you agree with it or not? Let us know down below.