"It hurts sales", dev criticizes Xbox Game Pass model after bringing his game to service

There has been much discussion about the effect Xbox Game Pass has on game sales. While many developers have benefited from the goodness of the service, the reality is that there are also creatives who are not entirely satisfied after bringing their games to Microsoft's platform.

Dino Patti, co-founder of Jumpship, is one of the creatives who is not entirely convinced by the Xbox Game Pass model. From his perspective, the service hurts game sales. He knows this as he recently launched Somerville on the service and saw the results.

Dev of Somerville isn't entirely happy with Xbox Game Pass

During a recent interview with Videogames.si (via GamingBolt), Patti assured that he got a good deal with Microsoft to bring Somerville to Xbox Game Pass. Despite this, he was not satisfied with the final results, as he believes the service hurt his game's sales.

The developer claimed that gamers use the service to test games, but that they do not invest in them. For this reason, the Xbox Game Pass model does not entirely convince him, as the success of a game can depend on how impressive its start is and whether it manages to hook players in the first few minutes. Because of this, Patti prefers the classic distribution model, where players buy the game directly.

"We did a pretty good deal. I also think it hurts sales. Because a lot of people just go in and try it and they don’t invest. If they don’t like the first 10 minutes? That’s it. Also, if you don’t make the first 10 minutes amazing, maybe it’s also a problem. I think [Game Pass] is okay. It’s not my favorite. My favorite is the old premium model." the creative said.

Other indie developers have praised the Xbox Game Pass model, as their games got a lot of exposure. There are also cases where the service has helped increase sales of certain titles. So, the service model does not necessarily guarantee the expected results to everyone.

It is worth remembering that Microsoft has long accepted that Xbox Game Pass can cannibalize game sales under certain circumstances.