Phil Spencer details how Xbox Game Pass games are chosen and paid for

The Xbox Game Pass service is almost magic: it offers many games for a very low price (starting at R$29.90) and that raised plenty of questions; after all, the price is too low for what the service offers… how does Microsoft manage it?

Well, we have finally received a “light” on the subject… Phil said the deal works “case by case”, that is, the approach varies from developer to developer. In some cases Microsoft even funded the development of certain games, even if they were going to come out on other platforms. Phil said:

“Our deals are, I will say, all over the place. It does not feel managed, but it is really based on the developer’s need. One of the things that has been cool to see is a developer, usually a small to mid-sized developer, may be starting a game and say: Hey, we are willing to put this on Game Pass on our launch day if you give us X dollars now. What we can do is create a floor for them in terms of their game’s success. They know they are going to have that return.“

“[In] certain cases, we will pay for the full production cost of the game. So they have all the retail opportunities on top of Game Pass. They can go sell it on PlayStation, on Steam, on Xbox, and on Switch. For them, they have protected themselves from any downside risk. The game is going to get made. So they have all the retail upside, we have the day-and-date opportunity. That would be a fixed payment to a developer. Sometimes the developer is more done with the game and it is more just a transaction of, hey, let us put it on Game Pass if you pay us this amount of money.”

“Others want [deals] more based on usage and monetization, whether it is store monetization that is created through transactions or usage. We are open to [experimenting] with many different partners, because we do not think we have it all figured out. When we started, we had a model that was all based on usage. Most partners said: Yes, yes, we understand that, but we do not believe it, so just give us the money upfront.”

The effort that Microsoft put into Game Pass to become something advantageous and attractive was very large; imagine the amount paid to Rockstar for RDR 2 and GTA V on Xbox Game Pass, or even imagine the amount paid to EA Games for it to decide to merge the EA Play service into Xbox Game Pass. There is no denying that Game Pass is here to stay!

Source: GamingBolt