Xbox Podcast: Justin Roiland on why High on Life got into Game Pass (and how that will help make future games)

In a recent episode of the Xbox Podcast high in life Creator Justin Roiland joined Xbox Major Nelson Larry Hryb in explaining why he decided to join the Game Pass series after doing “a lot of research” on the service.

“Before we decided to pull the trigger, I spoke to a handful of other studio people who have done Game Pass,” Roiland explained. “And based on what I had heard, I finally came to the conclusion that it is an added value. Because essentially, there are a lot of people who wouldn’t have picked up and played the game otherwise.

“And these people, if you believe in what you’ve done and you’re really confident that you’ve done something special or different – and we’re doing that with our game – these people can become evangelists for the title in a way .”

We announced that yesterday high in life is the biggest launch of Xbox Game Pass in 2022, the biggest 3^approx party Game Pass launch ever and the largest single-player game release in the history of the service.

“A lot of people have told me that non-Game Pass games they ship out are, compared to Game Pass games, [they get] 7x sales.”

Game Pass wasn’t just about reaching people who would naturally be interested in the game – whether that’s for its single-player narrative approach, its rare status as a true comedy game, or its connection to Roiland’s work on Rick and Morty – but those who otherwise might not have thought of playing it. “When someone hesitates or raises an eyebrow, what is that thing? And if they’re a Game Pass subscriber, they can just download it and dive in,” Roiland explained.

Roiland’s research helped him conclude that Game Pass “is a powerful tool to get a lot of reach. If you really think you’ve made something of value, it’s a pretty powerful tool. And that’s what I gathered from doing my due diligence myself. A lot of people have told me that non-Game Pass games they ship out are, compared to Game Pass games, [they get] 7x sales.”

What’s most exciting for fans of Roiland and his studio Squanch is that Game Pass doesn’t just help them create high in lifebut also future games:

“We are an indie studio. we are small And we want a war chest to make some funnier crazy games. And that mattered to us. It’s like, ‘Okay, we really want this game to come out. We want it to work. We want it to sell well.” And I think, yeah, I mean, from what I’ve gleaned from my little poking around and asking different people, Game Pass has been a great value in that regard.”

Roiland also talked about a lot more, including how the game contains secrets and details that players will discover for “months”. The standalone interview is available see or listen in full now.

If you haven’t joined the million games high in lifethe game is available now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Windows and is part of Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.