Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus have millions of subscribers. But growth can no longer be achieved with the services. The stagnation continues.
Game subscription services are an important pillar for publishers and platform owners. But it seems that growth opportunities should be sought in other areas.
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One Analysis of Piers Harding rolls has recently shown increasing stagnation, which is setting in after years of growth. Figures from the USA support the latest calculations and forecasts.
Subscription services are stalling
According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, subscription offers such as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus only achieved a one percent increase between April 2023 and April 2024, so that there was essentially stagnation. Mobile subscriptions are not included in the analysis.
It's a trend that continues. According to Circana's Games Market Dynamics report, spending on game subscriptions in April 2023 was only two percent higher than what was achieved in April 2022. “And the development is still stagnant,” commented Piscatella on the latest results.
Building on this, Sony seems to have stayed on the right path. The PS5 manufacturer was under a lot of pressure at the beginning of the new generation to change the concept of the Xbox Game Pass to take over. The Redmond company's package includes all first-party titles and selected games from third-party manufacturers right at launch.
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While Sony expanded the PlayStation Plus offering and since 2022 itself Libraries for subscribers the company continues to focus on premium releases at full price.
What other subscription services are there on the market?
Game Pass titles land on the PS5
The concept of Xbox Game Pass was called former PlayStation boss Jim Ryan once as destroying value for the entire industry. And Microsoft's new initiatives could actually indicate that it has miscalculated with Xbox Game Pass.
The first games that were included in the subscription at launch are now available on the PS5 (exclusively as a purchase version). And just yesterday it was announced that Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin closed became. At least the studio mentioned first was able to use developer skills last with “Hi-Fi Rush”..
It remains to be seen what influence Xbox Game Pass actually had on such measures Microsoft only discloses part of the business results. But one thing seems certain: Subscriptions like PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass are not the groundbreaking business models some executives had hoped for.
With the ongoing stagnation, Microsoft will not achieve the more than 100 million Xbox Game Pass customers it is aiming for by 2030, which appeared in leaked documents. And the actual use on the Xbox consoles is also rather manageable:
Spencer later commented on the leaks: “It's hard to see our team's work being shared in this way because so much has changed and there is so much to be excited about now and in the future. We will share the real plans when we are ready.”
Further news about Playstation Plus, Xbox Game Pass.
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