Game Pass: Hail-Mary Pass!

Citizen Sleeper dev praises Game Pass (quote from Edge, May 2024 issue)

Citizen Sleeper Dev praises GamePass for keeping a lot of indie studios going right now "money is a pittance to Microsoft, but to us it's the thing that means we can make another videogame"

Continued praise from developers for the success of Game Pass and how they benefit greatly. I love seeing these developers being able to become success due to programs like this. It's a win win for gamers and developers.

What say you fellow SW fans? Are you excited with the game growth and developer growth that Game Pass allows?

Exactly the kind of games GP is made for. Cheap indie titles developed on a $1000 budget. Quality AA and AAA that are guaranteed to sell, has no place on a renting service for at least six months after launch.

lol :P

It's blessed for some reason allright.

Think of the trillion dollar company

Thank you Game Pass. 🙏

I don't know you guys, even though this is a developer saying this, how do we really know for sure if Game Pass is good for developers or not? It's not like there have been tons of them saying this.

Also, I never heard of Citizen Sleeper. Had to go look at gameplay and nope, I like the art style but that game is a visual novel, and I rarely play them. No wonder it's on Game Pass to begin with lol.

Okay, now that's mooaaar like it. We finally got some Concern going on up in here...

lol :P

Thats good subcription sevices helped a lot of small devs find audience. Hard for these small devs to market their game in the saturated market.

A great example I always use Rocket League & Fall Guys blow up helped by day one PS+ and Rocket League devs called it the best decision they ever made.

This is a low-key perk to Game Pass that sounds like a subtle insult, but I don't mean it as such, but...

...the nice thing about Game Pass is that it lets you try games out you wouldn't normally spend money on. For example, Cities Skylines 2 is not really a great game, especially given it's first installment. BUT! it's not a bad game, just something I would not spend a full $50+ on, especially when mods and such allow me to make the first game every bit as beautiful and even more fully-featured than the sequel.

Enter Game Pass: with a small subscription fee, I can play this game and enjoy it (indulging my FOMO and curiosity) while ultimately saving money. It's a win-win as far as I am concerned. The amount of games I've been able to sample that I would otherwise not have tried is large.

I would need to know more about how it works. Specifically:

• Is there a "lump-sum" payment to developers to get their game on Game Pass, i.e. "Hey, we want your game on Game Pass, here is a bunch of cash"
  • If so, does this inherently apply an exclusivity clause?
• Do they get paid per download?
• Do they see more revenue if they meet certain milestones? I.e. they get a bonus payment or MS takes a smaller percentage if they sell 1 million copies/5 million copies/etc.
• Are developers paid based on hours played? Many games only warrant 20 hours but some get hundreds or even thousands of hours...is this a factor?

There's just too many questions I have to come to any conclusion.

There actually has been tons saying this. They have been posted here over the years.

Inevitable response incoming:

@lamprey263:

lol :P

So...you guys actually are concerned and need reassurance? Which is it?

Yeah sometimes this is a great way to get your game in a lot of hands quickly.

And other times it's a more niche singleplayer game and it doesn't do well on either Game pass and in sales, oh well.

You feel that way because you cant have it.

I am just an attention whore and make threads to see if I can get replies. Sometimes I get a lot of replies, sometimes not so many :(

Btw, really great game.

I get you 🤣

Hopefully Golden gets me 😎

glad for that team and other teams who have benefited from the platform.. 👍

Gamepass the only platform that has blockbuster quality games from all levels of development. From indie level all the way upto blockbuster level.

For those narrow minded people dishing indie games and Microsoft for.supporting them need to consider how some of the biggest companies such as fromsoftware started as an indie developer.

Funny, I've heard different.

@davillain said:

@kvallyx said:

@davillain said:

It's not like there have been tons of them saying this.

There actually has been tons saying this. They have been posted here over the years.

Funny, I've heard different.

You have selective listening skills

All that I can muster up is...meh.

Gamepass works well for some devs and some devs prefer to opt out or don't get the offer. But if it doesn't work for all developers it is bad for developers 😂

I see it as:

Developer claims Game Pass isn't good for the industry: PS fans celebrate

Developer claims Game Pass is what made them successful: PS fans cry foul, calls them liars

PS fans are dumb then.😂

@R4gn4r0k said:

It's blessed for some reason allright.

thank you saint phil!

Keeps delivering bangers and asks nothing in return.

@R4gn4r0k said:

@blaznwiipspman1 said:

@R4gn4r0k said:

It's blessed for some reason allright.

thank you saint phil!

Keeps delivering bangers and asks nothing in return.

lol :P

@SecretPolice said:

@R4gn4r0k said:

@blaznwiipspman1 said:

@R4gn4r0k said:

It's blessed for some reason allright.

thank you saint phil!

Keeps delivering bangers and asks nothing in return.

lol :P

not the right CEO but I still like this meme ^^

Also this guy will have my undying respect for being the one CEO that actually took the fall, instead of letting his people take the fall.

Yes but they are all indie games that no one would spend money on.

now for the huge AAA budget games nope.

hence why starfiled,grounded,sea of thiefs,hi-fi and more are on ps5 now. because if they was making a profit you know dam well phil would never put them on ps5.

that is why ps5 does not put there big AAA games on plus day one. let the developers make there money first at 70 bucks a pop.

Phil already confirmed that Xbox is profitable and game pass is profitable.

When did you poll the entire earth to see to that nobody buys those indies? And why did you say NOPE to AAA, when there are TONS of AAA games (not including first party) on Xbox, including day one?

Starfield is on PS5?

And by that logic (or lack there of), PlayStation titles aren't making a profit because they are putting them on PC..

I have no insight into how much Game Pass helps studios, how it helps studios, or which studios it helps. All I have to go on is what MS says and some fanboys on dumb forums, or studios themselves of which I've seen some say it's good, some say it's bad. So how good Game Pass is probably then depends on your type of studio and budget, or how much of a fanboy you are.

I don't blindly believe everything from random strangers on the internet. Which means I'm not sure Game Pass allows developers growth and freedom more than other things do. I also don't get excited by subscription services, or that studios' games which I have no plans on playing gets made or not.