Starfield It was supposed to be the most important launch of Microsoft in 2022. When there was finally a delay, the company explored deals with outside publishers such as Electronic Arts j Ubisoft take with you too Game pass greatest hits on the same day of their release, filling the gap. A leaked internal email exchange from the Federal Trade Commission trial earlier this year shows exactly how much he valued him Microsoft These agreements give us the best idea yet of how much it will cost to ensure such successes Star Wars Jedi: Survivor j Grand Theft Auto V in type subscription service Netflix.
“This is truly a catastrophic situation for us, considering how much we have invested in the content of the studios in our content fund Family doctor”, wrote Phil Spencer to his leadership colleagues Xbox in an email dated May 7.
He was referring to role playing game Open world science fiction Bethesda, Starfield whose delay at the time threatened to leave a 16-month gap in the exclusive release schedule for the first part of Xbox just two years into the life cycle of Xbox Series X/S.
Sarah Bond, Vice President of Gaming Business Development Microsoft responded to the discussion later in the month with a breakdown of the major third-party games that are expected to release throughout 2022 and early 2023 and could have a big impact Game pass. These included from Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga until Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League including an analysis of how many hours each game would likely be played Game pass how much it would cost to add the game to the service and whether the proprietary publisher would be willing to make a deal.
Here’s the full list of estimates: Estimates vary significantly depending on the size of the release and whether it would be available on the service the same day.
Lego Star Wars: 35 million dollars
Dying Light 2: 50 million dollars
Cities: Skylines 2: it is unknown
Red Dead Redemption 2: 5 million dollars per month
Dragon Ball: The Breakers: 20 million dollars
Just dance: 5 million dollars
Return to Monkey Island: 5 million dollars
Wreckfest 2: $10-14 million
Baldur’s Gate 3: 5 million dollars
Gotham Knights: 50 million dollars
Assassin’s Creed Mirage: 100 million dollars
Suicide Squad: 250 million dollars
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor: 300 million dollars
Mortal Kombat 1: 250 million dollars
Grand Theft Auto V: $12-15 million per month
Blood Runner: 5 million dollars
Net Crisis Glitch Busters: 5 million dollars
It is noteworthy that some games please Assassin’s Creed Mirage j Suicide Squad they were eventually delayed (there is no new release date for the latter yet). It’s also curious to see this Baldur’s Gate 3 one of the biggest games of 2023, was underrated at just $5 million (it’s out now). PlayStation 5 but it was delayed Xbox due to version problems Series S).
Bond also points out that games like Suicide Squad j Mortal Kombat They likely wouldn’t come to Game Pass due to the turmoil at Warner Bros. following its merger with Discovery. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor It also appeared to be off the table. Gotham Knights j Assassin’s Creed Mirage Far more viable and profitable arrangements were considered. And indeed, even though it wasn’t the same day, Lego Star Wars finally got around to it Game pass on December 1st last year.
Companies like activation (soon acquired from Microsoft) y Sony have criticized simultaneous publishing deals with subscription services, arguing that they devalue games that sell for $70.
The million dollar maker has explicitly stated that he will not carry such hits Spider Man 2 to your competitor, PS Plus until years later to avoid cannibalizing sales, arguing that the economics for high-value first-party exclusives were not sustainable.
Microsoft disagrees and promotes services like Game pass as a way to introduce games to a wider audience, claiming that this actually increases subscriber spending on the platform. The email exchange between Spencer and Bond ends with commentary on what ultimately turned out to be the biggest game of 2022.
“Another option with a success factor.” Elden Ring is to try to get all the games Dark souls and increase with (FromSoftware) and an additional offer from Elden Ring“ Spencer wrote. “I like that idea,” Bond replied. “We will do it”.
