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Xbox Game Pass has had such an impact on society that former executives like Ed Fries are quite anxious about what the future can hold. He believes that the service will completely change the nature of the video game market.
Opinions about the Xbox Game Pass have been quite polarising from the industry's point of view. When Microsoft's gaming division decided to launch the service, nobody had foreseen its success. However, it quickly won over the fans based on its affordable nature.
The Xbox Game Pass offers a vast array of games to its subscribers for a monthly bargain fee. The library includes games from all genres and even day one releases.
It also includes all first-party games owned by Xbox, which makes it a great deal for any gamer. It is the primary reason why some believe that the potential it has is endless.
Former executive Ed Fries talks about the potential of the Xbox Game Pass
Speaking with Xbox Expansion Pass, Fries mentioned the potential and what the future holds for the revolutionary service. Since its inception, Xbox Game Pass has grown exponentially and surpassed 25 million subscribers at the start of 2022.
One could easily understand its impact, given that Sony has changed the nature of PlayStation Plus. The new structure certainly seems quite close to how Microsoft's service operates, and the undertone is clear.
Fries believes that the only thing that worries him about the market's future is the impact the Xbox Game Pass could have.
"The one thing that they're doing that makes me nervous is Game Pass."
The former Microsoft executive believes that the service could have the same impact as Spotify. While the number of subscribers between the two is quite different, Fries believes there are several similarities.
"When Spotify took off it destroyed the music business, it literally cut the annual revenue of the music business in half. It's made it so people just don't buy songs anymore."
Fries believes that such a thing happening in the gaming ecosystem could be problematic due to the fragile nature of the markets.
"So we have to be careful we don't create the same system in the game business. These markets are more fragile than people realise. I saw the games industry destroy itself in the early 80s. I saw the educational software business destroy itself in the mid-90s… they literally destroyed a multi-billion dollar market in a few years."
Fries also added that he loves the service as a customer, but it doesn't translate into being great for the industry. He also pointed out that, unlike Spotify, a very small percentage of games are on the Game Pass. This could be a crucial difference.
"The percentage of all games that are on Game Pass is still tiny, and there are a lot of games. 200 games a week come out on Steam and more than that come out on mobile."
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Microsoft and Xbox Game Pass and if it could become the Spotify of the gaming world.
