Arkane Studios Founder Slams Xbox Game Pass: ‘Unsustainable Model Hurting Gaming’

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In the tumultuous wake of Microsoft’s Xbox layoffs, Raphael Colantonio, founder of Arkane Studios, voiced his criticism towards Xbox Game Pass, effectively describing it as a significant and often overlooked issue. Whilst many champion the Game Pass model, there are also others such as the previous president of Arkane Studios who view this subscription service as potentially harmful for the gaming industry.

For the past week, Microsoft’s decision to mass lay off employees has significantly impacted the gaming industry. This action resulted in thousands of job losses and the cancellation of various projects like the remake of Perfect Dark, as well as the closure of several studios. In this chaotic scenario, many within the gaming community are discussing potential reasons for these ongoing layoffs. In one such discussion, Colantonio, renowned for his work on numerous successful Arkane Studios games, has expressed his views on the impact of Xbox Game Pass.

In a tweet, Colantonio stated that the Xbox Game Pass model has been progressively detrimental to the gaming industry over time, labeling it as unsustainable. He believes this service conflicts with traditional methods of game acquisition like individual purchases, implying that those in control will either eliminate other access options or eventually abandon the Xbox subscription service. Colantonio proposed that a viable solution for Game Pass to coexist without causing harm is to limit its offerings to older titles, rather than providing day-one releases on its premium tier. Additionally, he suggested that live-service games and the current poor quality of games at launch are also significant contributors to the industry’s struggles.

Arkane Studios Founder Criticizes Xbox Game Pass

Discussing its profitability, Colantonio suggested that the success of Xbox Game Pass is largely due to a financial maneuver, and he believes the situation would change if one considered the money Microsoft spent on purchasing game studios to supply the subscription service with content. The game director, who now leads WolfEye Studios, also described it as a long-term strategy and stated that it necessitates overwhelming the gaming market with content, like unleashing a tsunami. He further explained that over time, gamers might grow to dislike Xbox Game Pass once they understand its impact on games.

Lately, the developer of “Revenge of the Savage Planet” made headlines for voicing criticism towards Xbox’s subscription service. Interestingly, several other developers seem to share these sentiments about Game Pass at present. However, Xbox doesn’t appear to be slowing its efforts on this service as it plans to add a large number of classic games to its library in the coming days.

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2025-07-06 16:14