The logistics of Xbox Game Pass

[Moonpie2]

So, since the whole Microsoft/Zenimax thing, I've been wondering about how developers make money on Game Pass.
I know Capcom have come out and said they make nothing. But I digress.
on the surface it seems like a dream come true for consumers but a death sentence for developers, but that can't possibly be true!

If we take the recent God of War for example. That sold 10 million copies and once all said and done likely make Santa Monica Studio over $300,000,000

Now what would have happened if that went onto Game Pass exclusively?

1) Does Microsoft pay the developer pennies out of the $12 subscription for every download?
2) Do Microsoft actually use their vast fortune and take a hit and pay the developer a full $60 per download?
3) Is there a guesstimated up front cost (e.g.. we'll pay you $100,000,000 if you put your game on our platform) and maybe the developer misses out on money or maybe makes it big?

I just don't know.
Genuinely curious and not looking for this to become a console fanboy flamewar

 

[MM-Seat]

I wouldn't expect a AAA title to be on the service from day 1 (other than 1st party titles). AAA titles (Witcher 3, RDR2, GTA5) only go on to the service years after initial release. I suspect it's better for the publisher as it stops many people buying the title second hand.

 

[McPhee]

I believe it's a lump sum payment based on an agreed value between the developer/publisher and Microsoft:

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...irst-time-subscription-is-fair-for-developers

I'm not familiar with Capcom's comments. And I can't find anything in search. But if it's really so bad for them, why are they still putting games on the service? Resident Evil 7 only just landed.

 

[Jono8]

Yeh i had always thought it would be a lump sum. I guess the developer/publisher will work out whether they think it is worth it based on how the game is still selling.

 

[Moonpie2]

Hmmm.... ok, that makes sense.
If they 'generally' only go onto that service after a year or two, it's easy to guess the value of a product at that time, and then offer a lump sum to the devs for all future use.
Microsoft still might end up paying a little out of pocket, but they can easily afford it, and it's all in the name of enhancing the value of a service for years to come.

 

[ic1male]

I heard somewhere they pay for time played up to a certain amount. So if someone only plays one game per month, then that dev would get the bulk of the subscription money. If someone pays for Game Pass and ends up playing barely anything, then MS keeps all the money. I can't find any solid evidence for any theory though.

 

[Kreeeee]

I heard somewhere they pay for time played up to a certain amount. So if someone only plays one game per month, then that dev would get the bulk of the subscription money. If someone pays for Game Pass and ends up playing barely anything, then MS keeps all the money. I can't find any solid evidence for any theory though.

That goes completely against what a few developers have revealed about how it works.

The 3/4 developers that revealed/hinted how it works over the years have all stated that it’s a lump sum payment.

 

[DIABLO]

So, since the whole Microsoft/Zenimax thing, I've been wondering about how developers make money on Game Pass.
I know Capcom have come out and said they make nothing. But I digress.
on the surface it seems like a dream come true for consumers but a death sentence for developers, but that can't possibly be true!

If we take the recent God of War for example. That sold 10 million copies and once all said and done likely make Santa Monica Studio over $300,000,000

Now what would have happened if that went onto Game Pass exclusively?

1) Does Microsoft pay the developer pennies out of the $12 subscription for every download?
2) Do Microsoft actually use their vast fortune and take a hit and pay the developer a full $60 per download?
3) Is there a guesstimated up front cost (e.g.. we'll pay you $100,000,000 if you put your game on our platform) and maybe the developer misses out on money or maybe makes it big?

I just don't know.
Genuinely curious and not looking for this to become a console fanboy flamewar

I very much imagine it's scenario 1 or a lump sum, that's why you'll never see a third party AAA on game pass anywhere near release as they would never turn a profit.

 

[ljt]

Remember as well, that 3rd party games on the there are not on there forever.

It's only for a set period of time, so a 3rd party game developer will get money from their game on their normal retail release, then paid again for a negotiated time period on game pass, then it will leave game pass and you'd have to buy it normally again afterwards.

 

[jamesy505]

From a quick search:-

The developer of the game Descenders has just shared how effective the Xbox Game Pass is for the third party games that are on the service. His name is Mike Rose, and he has said that the Game Pass has been great not just because they have a licensing deal, but because it has raised awareness of the game signficantly, which impacted sales outside of the service. He said this, “If I take the month before we went into Game Pass, and compared it to sales of the game last week, we’re now selling around five times as many units each week as pre-Game Pass, on a weekly basis…Since we went into Game Pass, our total Xbox sales have tripled.” This isn’t the first indication we’ve had of this, the developers of Oxenfree and Outer Wilds have both praised the service as well, which I think is absolutely tremendous. The more that we have services like this elevating the popularity of indie games, the better. And at this point Microsoft is a great company to lead that charge. I say all the time, Xbox Game Pass, super cheap, tons of high quality games, go check it out.

So it seems that the visibility on GamePass helps drive sales, even on Xbox.

 

[House]

I've bought games that were on gamepass and DLC for games on gamepass/games with gold as well, so that has to boost revenue quite nicely for them as well.

People guessing how the money is split are doing just that guessing, the take from some other stores is known to be 30% ish but the fine print isnt, Epics attempts to disrupt steams market dominance with deals and lower cuts are good examples of how the market can be shifted, Breaking steams monopoly is a good thing for PC, even if the other stores aren't as well developed yet.

I doubt we will ever know the numbers for sure but its interesting.