This is how the situation reads to me: Hellblade 2 is an XBSX/S/PC exclusive, and anybody who owns an XBSX/S almost certainly already has a GamePass subscription (though exact figures haven't been given, we know that 34mil Xbox users already have a GP subscription...but only 31mil XBSX/S have been sold? Not sure how this works, but I'm definitely missing something...). Therefore, if Microsoft were to have poured time and resources into marketing this game, then they would have only experienced a larger loss in net profits, for the only people who would be interested in playing an Xbox/PC exclusive are those who already own an Xbox (or GP on PC). And since most people who own an Xbox already have a GP subscription, then the only people who Xbox would be marketing to are those who would be playing the game "free of charge".
...So in other words, GamePass has been a complete and utter disaster for Microsoft. They want to focus on maximizing profits (as seen by their multi-platform strategy as of recent) all while "outcompeting" their competition via providing "affordable services" (specifically GamePass)...which kill profits. So they end up without profits and a dying hardware brand. (Microsoft is in desperate need of new leadership.)
Microsoft *does* have some incredibly solid titles releasing from their studios, and so they are entirely capable of returning to the hardware market as a heavy competitor. If they just (i) stopped releasing all their titles onto GamePass, and (ii) made more of those incredible titles exclusive to Xbox (with PC/PS5 ports later on), then I firmly believe that Microsoft have a growing Xbox brand mixed with far greater profits.
Aside: There does exist substantial evidence pointing towards the "Exclusive Now, Multiplatform Later" approach being far more profitable and successful than "Multiplatform Now and Forever" (e.g. Sea of Thieves, Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy, Spyro Re-Ignited Trilogy, TLOU1&2, Horizon Forbidden West, etc etc etc).
Last edited by firebush03 - on 25 June 2024
