It
looks
like
non-mobile
gaming
subscriptions
have
hit
a
plateau,
at
least
according
to
industry
expert
Mat
Piscatella.

Mr.
Piscatella
is
the
Executive
Director
at
Circana
which
hoovers
an
ungodly
amount
of
data
which
it
then
uses
to
advise
various
video
game
companies.

Quoting
a
Tweet
he
sent
out
in
May
of
2023
in
which
he
stated
that
video
subscriptions
had
stalled
–
being
only
2%
higher
than
2022
–
he
said:
“And
it’s
still
stalled.
March
2024
non-mobile
video
game
subscription
was
only
up
1%
vs
the
April
2023
figure
that
got
me
to
the
below
last
year.”

While
this
paints
a
fairly
dismal
picture
for
companies
like
PlayStation
who
use
the
subscription
model,
it’s
Xbox
that
suffers
the
most.
Following
from
their
defeat
at
the
hands
of
PlayStation
during
the
Xbox
One
vs
PS4
generation,
Xbox
realised
it
couldn’t
catch
up
and
needed
to
do
something
big
to
change
the
rules
of
the
game.
Xbox
Game
Pass
was
born,
a
bold
move
that
needed
to
be
done
just
to
stay
in
the
fight.

There
have
been
various
arguments
over
the
years
about
whether
Game
Pass
is
profitable
or
even
sustainable,
especially
as
Xbox
puts
all
of
its
first-party
titles
onto
the
service
as
soon
as
they
launch,
whereas
PlayStation
does
not
put
its
first-party
titles
on
their
own
subscription
until
months
or
even
years
later.

But
one
thing
has
become
more
and
more
obvious:
Microsoft
and
Xbox
don’t
want
to
talk
about
Game
Pass
subscriber
numbers.
Considering
a
lot
of
their
console
business
is
built
around
the
service,
they
rarely
ever
discuss
the
raw
subscriber
data
and
instead
focus
on
nebulous
engagement
numbers,
hours
played
and
other
nonsense
rather
than
answering
the
core
question:
are
there
more
paying
Game
Pass
customers
than
before?

Piscatella’s
Tweet
would
therefore
seem
to
confirm
what
has
been
suspected
for
years:
they
aren’t
talking
about
it
because
the
numbers
are
not
going
up.
Keep
in
mind,
that’s
even
with
the
launch
of
Starfield
which
Microsoft
was
clearly
hoping
would
help
boost
Game
Pass.

But
we
do
need
to
keep
a
few
key
things
in
mind:
the
slow
growth
Piscatella
mentions
is
for
industry
as
a
whole,
encompassing
everything
from
Game
Pass
to
EA
Play,
so
it
is
possible
that
those
smaller
subscriptions
are
shrinking
while
Game
Pass
and
even
PS
Plus
are
growing,
making
the
total
growth
seem
relatively
flat.

Let’s
not
forget
that
a
lack
of
growth
doesn’t
mean
that
subscription
services
can’t
work
and
be
profitable,
either.
PlayStation
seem
reasonably
happy
with
their
own
offerings,
for
example.

I
think
it’s
different
for
Microsoft
and
Xbox
though,
because
they
have
built
so
much
of
their
business
and
identity
around
Game
Pass
that
seeing
no
or
little
growth
is
going
to
be
a
major
blow.
And
because
they
have
put
so
much
of
their
brand
into
Game
Pass,
they’ve
put
themselves
into
a
position
where
it’s
pretty
much
impossible
for
them
to
back
away
without
destroying
what’s
left
of
the
Xbox
brand.
Nor
can
they
take
away
the
first-party
games
without
suffering
a
huge
PR
blow
because
so
much
of
what
makes
Game
Pass
appealing
is
being
able
to
play
first-party
titles
for
a
low,
low
price.

It
puts
Microsoft
and
Xbox
in
a
tricky
position.
They
now
own
Call
of
Duty,
one
of
the
biggest
recurring
franchises
on
Earth.
It
prints
money
every
single
year,
and
yet
by
the
rules
of
their
own
game,
it
should
launch
on
Game
Pass
on
day
one.
On
the
one
hand,
this
could
be
the
massive
shot
in
the
arm
Game
Pass
needs
because
now
players
can
grab
one
of
the
most
popular
year
releases
for
a
handful
of
dollars
a
month.
On
the
other
hand,
it
could
drastically
reduce
the
amount
of
regular
sales
at
$70
a
pop,
although
historically
multiplatform
games
sell
vastly
more
on
hardware
other
than
Xbox.

The
fundamental
problem
Game
Pass
faces
is
the
same
one
Netflix
has:
the
machine
has
to
be
fed
constantly.
Deals
must
be
made
to
bring
third-party
stuff
to
Game
Pass
all
the
time,
and
as
development
costs
continue
to
soar,
that
becomes
increasingly
expensive
to
do.
Xbox
knows
this
too,
because

numerous
indie
developers
have
reported
that
Game
Pass
deals
and
other
subscription
service
deals
are
drying
up.

There’s
probably
plenty
of
room
in
the
industry
for
subscription
services,
or
at
least
room
for
a
couple
of
big
ones
rather
than
the
dozens
of
smaller
ones
we
are
seeing.
But
it
is
becoming
clearer
and
clearer
that
they
aren’t
the
defining
vision
of
the
future
that
Xbox
wanted
Game
Pass.