While Xbox Game Pass is a great deal for consumers, there are still questions around how subscription services impact new games. Publishers that have been through the process themselves aren't entirely certain themselves, including Take-Two, with its CEO not quite knowing what to make of The Outer Worlds' launch on Game Pass.
Take-Two held its third quarter earnings call this week, with one analyst asking CEO, Strauss Zelnick, whether The Outer Worlds launching on Game Pass for console and PC had “helped or hurt the franchise”. The quick answer is, Zelnick isn't quite sure yet, but of course he did have more to say than just that.
“It’s hard to say, I think what we’ve said all long is that generally speaking, we want to be where the consumer is. Generally speaking, we think subscription offerings to the extent they exist are probably better suited to catalogue, but we’re willing to take experimental chances when it makes sense for a particular title and when the deal underlying that option also makes sense for us.”
When it comes down to it, The Outer Worlds did still sell two million copies and the game is set to get another boost thanks to an upcoming release on Nintendo Switch. With all of that in mind, Take-Two admits that it is “still early days” for these new subscription platforms and even streaming technology, but the publisher aims to “be where the consumer is” and remain “open-minded” when it comes to new business models and platforms.
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KitGuru Says: I would love to know how revenue splits work through Xbox Game Pass. There are definitely times where the deal seems too good to be true, which means someone is losing out somewhere. For now at least, Game Pass continues to be one of the best deals in gaming.