When you read the title, you might have thought of an editorial, but it’s not. These words come straight from Phil Spencer. In fact, Spencer clarified this point during the exchange with Sarah Bond at the Games Developer Conference (GDC). Developers seem to regularly ask the former Xbox boss if releasing a game on Xbox without being in Game Pass is still relevant. Spencer’s answer leaves no doubt:
I also want to make it clear to people here that we at Xbox don’t have a business model that we believe will win. Developers often ask me, “If I don’t subscribe, will I no longer be viable on Xbox?” and that’s absolutely not true.
He goes on to emphasize the importance of retail in the income statement of Microsoft’s gaming division. Although the dematerialized tends to gain in importance, the physical still accounts for a significant portion of the company’s revenue.
[…]It’s something we invest resources in so that our developers can do a good job.
If Xbox is clearly placing Game Pass at the heart of its strategy, that’s not the only track the company is considering. Spencer reassured his audience by highlighting the different models supported: physical, subscription, and free-to-play.
On the Xbox team, we invest in the business models that developers demand and make sure they grow, so every year we see great new experiences on our platform that would never have been built if the business model capability wasn’t there on our platform.
