PlatformsXboxXbox Game PassWith Game Pass price hikes sparking debate, indie developers are rising up to remind us how vital the Xbox subscription can be “to the tune of staggering numbers"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
PlatformsXboxXbox Game PassWith Game Pass price hikes sparking debate, indie developers are rising up to remind us how vital the Xbox subscription can be “to the tune of staggering numbers"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Tomas Sala)
Game developers are speaking up in defense of Xbox Game Pass in the wake of the subscription service’smost recent price hikes, specifically on its importance for indie discoverability.
“I can attest personally that people on Game Pass actually do try out small indie games, to the tune of staggering numbers,“Bulwarksolodev Tomas Sala writes onTwitter, responding to an argument that price increases could reflectMicrosoft’s commitment to making Game Pass work [viaGamesIndustry.biz]. “On top of that, more platforms, with more diverse business models, with more diverse deal types, actually makes for more opportunities for indie devs. Not less.”
It makes sense that many Xbox fans have not taken the news lightly. It feels like just yesterday that theGame Pass prices went up againright beforeStarfieldlaunched – to absolutely no one’s surprise. But Sala offers a different perspective to assertions that “Game Pass has irreversibly damaged the industry”, asTwitteruser Ryan T. Brown says.
Sala isn’t the only indie developer clapping back at those declaring the death of Game Pass and Xbox as we knew it. Citizen Sleeper designer Gareth Damian Martin was quick to challenge Ryan’s viewpoint in areply Tweet: “Game Pass has been an important part of Citizen Sleeper’s success and has led to more players buying the game, not less. Without Game Pass there would have been no opportunity to do the sequel. I know many indies whose projects have massively benefited.”
Martin goes on to explain the rare breadth of mass circulation afforded to indie devs from being a part of Xbox Game Pass, and it’s not all about the bottom line. “Thinking of the value of games as purely financially driven is wrong,” Martin says. “People give incredible value to games they love, and they find those games on Game Pass when they never would have encountered them [before]. This raises the devs' profile, gains fans, and GP financially rewards indies.”
While Martin is right that gamesshouldn’tbe all about the money, and that Game Pass offers near priceless outreach potential for indie studios and their games, this does feel like a best case scenario. After all, success on the subscription service hasn’t always meant such great things for smaller Microsoft-owned studios.RIP Tango Gameworks, creators of Game Pass breakout hit Hi-Fi Rush, as just one example.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”