In the chaotic aftermath of the Xbox layoffs, Arkane Studios Founder Raphael Colantonio shared his critique of Xbox Game Pass, indirectly labeling it as “the elephant in the room.” While there are several proponents of the Game Pass model, there also exist certain others, like the former Arkane Studios president, who find the subscription service to be detrimental to the industry.
Over the past week, the mass layoffs at Xbox’s parent, Microsoft, have ravaged the gaming landscape. On top of several thousand people being laid off, the move has led to several in-development titles, such as the Perfect Dark remake, being canceled and has also resulted in the closure of a few different studios. In the midst of all this, the gaming community has been pointing fingers at the different factors possibly responsible for the ongoing layoff spree. In one such instance, Colantonio, known for leading multiple hit Arkane Studios games, has made his feelings about the role of the Xbox Game Pass clear.
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In a Twitter post, Colantonio said that Xbox Game Pass was an “unsustainable model” that had been “increasingly damaging” to the industry over the years. He opined that the subscription service couldn’t exist alongside other models, such as individual game purchases. Continuing, he said that those in charge would either do away with other ways to access games or eventually give up on Xbox’s subscription service. Revealing what he thought was the “only way” Game Pass could co-exist without “hurting everyone,” Colantonio suggested that such a scenario would be possible if the service, which offers day-one releases on its highest tier, was limited to backlog titles. Apart from this Xbox offering, the French developer further hinted at live-service titles and the poor state of games at launch being the other factors responsible for the “tough time” in the industry.
Arkane Studios Founder Criticizes Xbox Game Pass
Talking about the profitability aspect, Colantonio claimed that Xbox Game Pass was only profitable due to a “spreadsheet trick” and that things would be different when taking into account the money Microsoft spent on acquiring studios for flooding the subscription service with content. The game director, who currently heads WolfEye Studios, also said that the service was a “long game” and that it required “throwing a tsunami” at the ecosystem in the gaming industry. He added that, over time, gamers will come to “hate” Xbox Game Pass once “they realize the effects on the games.”
Recently, Revenge of the Savage Planet developer was also in the news for criticizing Xbox’s subscription service, confirming that multiple notable devs feel a certain way about Game Pass at present. Regardless, the console giant doesn’t seem to be slowing down its work on the subscription service, which is now set to see tons of retro titles being added to its catalog in the near future.