Phil admits GamePass is for "certain people"

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2025/04/phil-spencer-discusses-why-xbox-game-pass-isnt-for-everyone-these-days

Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service has been a huge part of its gaming plans in recent years, with much of the team's marketing involving Xbox Game Pass availability in some fashion. However, Team Xbox has begun broadening its horizons lately by releasing titles on platforms that don't support the subscription service - so it's probably a good job that boss Phil Spencer sees XGP as just one key option in accessing and playing the company's games.

Speaking with outlet Variety this week, Phil touched on the continued importance of Xbox Game Pass, while also discussing why the service might not be for everyone these days. Here's a chunk of that chat:

"For me, I look at Game Pass as a healthy option for certain people. It’s not for everybody. If you play one or two games a year, Game Pass probably isn’t the right business model for you, you should just buy those two games, and that would make total sense. But I want you to have the choice. So we remain focused on everything that’s on Game Pass is also available to buy. We’re making those games available to buy in more places."

Phil went on to say that Game Pass is "part of the equation for Xbox finding new players", and that the team isn't solely reliable on the service to help it reach new corners of the gaming market. That's especially true now that a chunk of its library is moving over to PlayStation and Nintendo platforms - where Game Pass isn't available.

Elsewhere in the Game Pass-flavoured chat, Phil admitted that console growth for the service is fairly stagnant at this time - and that "our biggest areas of growth right now are PC and Cloud", which is something we've continued to see evidence of in recent months and years.

Thoughts, SW? Does GamePass have a limited audience? Is GamePass the right model for you? I've had mine for a while now (and will have it until 2027). I take advantage of the big games like Persona 3 reload, Indiana Jones, DOOM, and even the Oblivion remaster that is coming up. But it doesn't beat just buying the game for me. Knowing that I am just paying for a limited time with it doesn't give me the same satisfaction.

Also, this seems like a shift in tone from a few years ago when MS used to talk about reaching "3 billion gamers". https://www.techtimes.com/articles/261794/20210622/xbox-3-billion-players-without-consoles-publishing-head.htm They rarely mention that anymore.

I think it's common sense, really.

I have 2 boys that I encourage to try new games and genres. Game Pass is perfect for that.

I've also tried genres I wouldn't normally play, like turned based RPGs.

When I was younger, i dont think I'd make use of GP enough to pay for it. I mainly played Madden and a few rpgs.

I rented any games I wanted to try back then, and with blockbuster gone, there are millions of people that simply cant afford to "try" new games. The good thing about GP is devs get paid whether you try a game and like it, or try a game and never go back....money they wouldnt get if gamers just skipped it due to lack of interest or lack of funds.

Not everyone is as fortunate as we are to argue over ridiculous things on the internet

(I'll just copy/paste what I've said on GS article news related to this)

I would rather own my games, and I make the choice rather than the subscription choosing for me. I probably buy 2 or 3 games a month on average, and it's still not for me. Just can't stand rentals unless it's a game I'm not 100% sure it's not going to be good, and it's on Game Pass, that's the time I'll use Game Pass to test out the game, and if it's any good, I'll buy it. I like to support developers that are worth my gaming time, and there are games I've completed and do like to revisit someday.

Game Pass is for gamers who don’t like paying full price and want an affordable option to play games, and there are also gamers on Xbox who like to buy physical copies. I maybe a PC gamer, but I still like seeing physical games being supported for years to come.

"For me, I look at Game Pass as a healthy option for certain people. It’s not for everybody." - Phil Spencer

Game Pass is an optional service; therefore, "not for everybody"..

in other news, "water is wet" and "grass is green"..

Not surprising. No product is for everyone.

more options is always better. If you want subscription, go for subscription. If you want to own, then own. The important thing is, xbox has the best value, and you don't need to worry about $80 games or $90 games. Since MS is such a big company, they also don't scam customers on huge prices for 10 year old games, and don't remaster remasters either. Not like Sony, who is charging full price on pc for 10 year old TLOU and marketing it like its a new game. MS just offered GoW remastered FREE to PC gamers, let that sink in. Don't get me started on the con artist nintendo, who actually pisses me off the most, because unlike sony playstation, I actually WANT their system and games.

Ulterior motives notwithstanding, I fail to see how this approach is anything but good for consumers. Literally all options we could want are on the table.

• Digital subscription
• Digital purchase
• Physical purchase (when available)

"For me, I look at Game Pass as a healthy option for certain people. It’s not for everybody. If you play one or two games a year, Game Pass probably isn’t the right business model for you, you should just buy those two games, and that would make total sense...

Literally what I've been saying for years.

I dabble and play a lot of games, Game Pass is perfect for me.

Some folks just play Halo, Game Pass is not good for them.

But I want you to have the choice. So we remain focused on everything that’s on Game Pass is also available to buy. We’re making those games available to buy in more places."

Good.

This applies to me as well.

Im 99% a PC gamer so most of my "catalog" is digital. It's convenient for sure, but there are a ton of games I wish I had physical copes of simply because I enjoy those games or franchises so much.

I wrote the same thing to @boiled-hotdug

When I play a game on Gamepass that I really like, I put a price tracking up over at gg deals and that way I feel like I can both try the game day one, not have to pay 80 euros and own the game (at a certain point in the future).

I'm still a bit amazed that people hold onto the idea of "owning" games when buying physical copies - the only difference is you own a bit of cardboard and plastic to go along with your software license. Is it still possible to re-sell physical copies of console games, or lend them to friends? I guess since I've always been primarily on PC, and everything gets tied to an account one way or another, physical copies just seem like extra clutter for your home or junk for the landfill at this point.

Gamepass is just a different licensing model, and follows the trend towards subscription models over one-time permanent license purchases that is happening everywhere these days. never hurts to have the option and its much more economical if you want to play enough of the games on there.

The games I find worth to play are worth to own, so I don't use Game Pass personally. Used it to demo a few games back when it was 1 dollar/month, but even then I didn't use it much.

But it is a pretty cool thing, especially since most AAA games of today are one and done experiences. Buying a game for 60-80 bucks and complete it in 30 hours to never play again sucks, and Game Pass would be good for that.

You like Monster Hunter Wilds , would you say Monster Hunter Wilds would also be worth it at 100 dollars?

For me Gamepass feels like a great way to combat the rising price of games, not that I seem to buy any less games.

This should be obvious to any thinking person.

Lemme disect your question:

It is still possible to sell physical games or to lend them to friends. But when you keep them for a while the price (of mass produced products) drops really fast. Sometimes a rare game nets you a lot.

I think a friend of mine used to trade 2-3 games for one new Nintendo game.

But yeah some stores are nicer, like a "we take two games and you get a good discount on game you're really hyped for" sort of way.

Which, yeah is something that is impossible with digital games.

____

But the thing I want to point out here, and the fallacy that seems to go around with this is: the full game is NOT on the disc, this has been going on for a while now. PS5 discs, Xbox discs, nintendo cartridges often don't hold the full game.

So you do still need to be connected to the internet, and in that regard there is as much DRM in a physical disc game as there is on an all digital game.

In conclusion there is a nice Twitter account that I followed called "will it run" and that one kept track of is a game complete on disc and does it require DRM/internet to play?

Like man, there hasn't been a COD in ages where you don't have to download an additional 200GB before even playing.

I bought MW 2 last year second hand on PS5 (I wanted to play MW 3 through gamepass so needed to get this one first).

When the game finally installed, finally downloaded every file, it only managed to get into the main menu.

I then had to download an additional 2-3 packs just to play the campaign.

That seems to be the case on Xbox, and some Nintendo games, but I've been able to just install and play without downloading anything on PS5 unless it was a multiplayer-only game. Even big complex games like FF7 Rebirth.

@R4gn4r0k: Folks that want physical media to survive, they should spend more time pushing for a more modern medium for physical games than hating on "digital".

People who save money on games they'd have never bought otherwise I agree.

I think it is inevitable that physical media dies out.

I do hope that some companies stick around to make physical copies, in the way that vinyl records are still being produced.

There are some games that I WANT physical, but digital is much more convenient for my 660 steam games, and who knows how many others on the other launchers.

Out of those, I can probably name 20-30 that I'd want physical. I dont need Steam sale games taking up space in my basement lol

I'm at the forefront, the foray, the vanguard.

Switch 2 games may be more expensive physical, but I refuse to buy Nintendo games from their (unprotected) eshop.

So I'm even paying more just to keep physical alive.

All thanks to the low low prices I'm paying for Gamepass.

I think people underestimate the number of people who still prefer physical. I doubt it will ever truly die out. It will only create opportunities for companies like LimitedRunGames to make physical copies. Also, music has been widely digital for a long time yet people still buy vinyl records. I guess if console makers completely bar it, then that's a huge loss for gaming in general.

To me, buying physical games that require installation on the local storage is just dumb. If you buy a physical game, you should just plug it in and play. No updates or internet required. Nintendo, for the most part has maintained this. Optical disc in this period in gaming history is backward as...

Game Pass is SO cooked. MS telegraphs this shit so hard. 🤣

This is obviously obvious. Options are good.

Some hate options.😏

@Pedro: They are very strange people. 😅

I do not think Wilds is worth 100 dollars, no. I'd probably pay it if I had too though, since it's one of the series I sink serious hours into. What I think stuff are worth and what I'd pay are different things. :P

And yeah, if game prices keep rising I'd probably resort to renting my games with a sub too. Some form of Nintendo Pass might be worth it too if they made that. The latest mainline Mario and Zeldas aren't very replayable and cost a lot.

I play plenty of games/year and GP isnt also for me neither. I just play older games and wait for sales

@Pedro: Perhaps they just don’t want to save “a couple of dollars”. 🤷‍♂️😅

We grew up in times where we got amazing games like OOT or Wind Waker for 50 euro, that is always gonna be a standard we hold other games up to now.

We see games now cost upwards of 80 euro but is Doom The Dark Ages really gonna bring me more joy than Wolfenstein 2? Kinda comparing apples with oranges but you see my point.

If money weren't a factor, I'd surely spend more on games too.

But knowing yourself is the start of all knowledge, hehe

saving "a couple dollars" is indeed optional.. 🤣😂

Indeed, but not for me.

Gamepass is not for me. I'm very intentional with the games I select to play and would not benefit form day 1 games because I likely wouldn't play them until I was ready. I'd be paying for two months trying to finish one game.

I do my best work in the bargain bin...

As long as it is an option and not a mandatory way to play games then it seems fine to me. It's not for me but neither is cloud or mobile. A lot of games I want are not on Game Pass and I prefer to buy physical versions of games I intend to play. I guess everyone has their own way they want to play. It's an interesting experiment and I will be curious what happens to these services in the future.

So, Phil wants me "to have a choice" on whether I buy or rent, but is releasing more & more games digitally only, you can **** off Phil you lying sack of 💩

It's good for me since I almost never buy games until they're heavily discounted.

If something comes to the service that I really wanna play I subscribe for a month and play that game (and any others that are interesting to me). Rinse and repeat...

Gamepass is great for Gamers on a budget and people with kids who game. It provides a ton of content for a price much cheaper than traditional game purchases, especially for younger kids who used to trade in physical games for pennies just to get a new title.

That being said, of course it's not for everyone. I have more games on Steam than what's on gamepass, so it doesn't really give me an incentive to sub. In fact, they don't separate subscribers, but I'd be willing in to bet there's much more subscribers on Xbox than PC, hence why it's cheaper on PC.

I'd also be willing to bet that, just like Xbox's games, if Sony allowed gamepass on Playstation it would be a massive success on the system.

Yeah agreed and I told you how I like having all my games on Steam for simplicity. I only have the Xbox app cause I know certain titles need me to be signed in to launch and play like Forza Horizon 5 or Master Chief Collection...same with Ghost of Tsushima & Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered which I like cause I can collect the trophies for the games that support it

I feel if I had Game Pass when I was 14 or 15 I would have been all over this and just playing whatever comes out...lol

Just send him a text and tell him to knock it off

If it isn't Phil it will just be some other guy who has to execute the same exact MS plans but without all of the networking with game studios that Phil has done for them.

The majority of gamers only play 1 or two games at all.

Sports Title and Online Multiplayer GaaS

That's it. So having thousands of games at your fingertips isn't very attractive if gamers only play a handful of games over the course of a console generation

This is exactly why I don't buy physical games anymore. They just aren't physical. You insert the disc in the xbox, and the first thing you get is "This game requires an update". Then you download a 30 GB patch or whatever. And every time you want to play the game, you need to insert the damn disc just to boot the game.

Nope, Spencer never fought for Xbox, he just found ways to screw it over. The guy talks so much shit i'm surprised his lips are continuously brown. Have options he says, then releases games digital only. He's nothing but a corporate arse kisser, and Nutella has a clean butt.

I think for Gamepass to be worth it, you have to change your habits, so you don't buy games, only really DLC and you play a lot of different games frequently.

For me, I don't buy games at full price, but I get them digitally on sales or CDKeys. If I like a game, I want to own it. And I don't play a lot of new games.

The only way Gamepass would make sense to me, is if there was a cheaper Xbox Cloud Gaming service. Then I'd be more likely to just jump into random games. But this is only for the most expensive tier. So not super into the idea right now.

@pmanden: If you do proper research there are still plenty of games that come fully playable on the disc. They only require the instalation in order for the system to load the game quicker. Other updates are minor fixes that arent required to play the game at all

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2025/04/subscriptions-like-xbox-game-pass-not-the-future-of-gaming-says-analyst

Subscriptions Like Xbox Game Pass 'Not The Future Of Gaming', Says Analyst

Wowza..