PlayStation boss says publishers dislike Xbox Game Pass, but that’s not entirely true
One publisher says different
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SonyInteractive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has claimed publishers aren’t the biggest fans ofXbox Game Pass.
Ryan made the comments during a video call as part ofMicrosoft’s current court case versus the US Federal Trade Commission, in regards to the acquisition of ActivisionBlizzardby theXbox Series X|S manufacturer.
Reportedly, Ryan said that he “talked to all publishers and they unanimously do not like Game Pass because it’s value destructive.” He added: “I talk to publishers all the time, and this is a very commonly held view over many years by the publishers." (thanks,VGC).
However, we have reason to believe this isn’t entirely true. TRG spoke to Mike Rose, head of UK-based publisher No More Robots. The company has had several dealings with Microsoft to host its games on theXbox Game PassSubscription service, includingDescenders, Hypnospace Outlawand the recently releasedSlayers X: Terminal Aftermath.
We asked Rose if Xbox Game Pass has been good for No More Robots, to which he responded: “It is exceptionally good. The deals that come our way are not just good. They’re unbelievable. Basically every game we’ve put on Game Pass now, the moment we hit the launch button it breaks even. It’s been ridiculous for us.”
“Slayers Xwas meant to come out last year, and then we got the Game Pass deal for it. We went to the dev and we were like: should we just make this bigger? We got the Game Pass deal and were like, oh f**k, we’d better make this a real game now. So they spent another nine months on it, just using the Game Pass money to make the game five times as big as it was gonna be.
“Now it’s come out and it’s our highest-rated game, and that just wouldn’t have happened without Game Pass.”
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The highly-anticipatedCities Skylines 2is also launching day one on Xbox Game Pass, and its developer has opted for a more realistic approach to the game’s economy,stripping younger generations of a decent living.
Rhys is TRG’s Hardware Editor, and has been part of the TechRadar team for more than two years. Particularly passionate about high-quality third-party controllers and headsets, as well as the latest and greatest in fight sticks and VR, Rhys strives to provide easy-to-read, informative coverage on gaming hardware of all kinds. As for the games themselves, Rhys is especially keen on fighting and racing games, as well as soulslikes and RPGs.
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