Xbox Game Pass Is Struggling Due to a Shortage of High-Quality First-Party Hits, Says Ori and the Blind Forest Creator

While Xbox Game Pass remains an attractive proposition for budget-conscious gamers eager to explore a wide variety of experiences at minimal cost, its long-term viability has become a subject of intense debate within the industry.

Despite repeated assurances from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer that the model is financially sustainable, mounting skepticism suggests otherwise, particularly as the company rolls out structural changes under executive Asha Sharma in an effort to reinvigorate the platform.

Thomas Mahler, CEO of Moon Studios (Ori, No Rest for the Wicked), offered a candid assessment of Xbox Game Pass, pointing to a persistent lack of standout first-party titles as the primary reason the subscription service has failed to gain sustained traction among players.

Xbox Games Pass Failed Due to Lack of “Smash Hits”

Mahler weighed in on the matter following a social media post from Duke Nukem creator George Broussard, who asked about the origins of Game Pass. In his response, Mahler argued that Microsoft’s overarching strategy was not inherently flawed, but that player enthusiasm ultimately faltered because the catalog simply did not justify a recurring monthly fee.

Drawing a comparison to television streaming, Mahler noted that services like HBO succeed because they offer indispensable, high-caliber content: “I’ll happily pay my HBO sub because HBO has amazing content that I want to watch. I’d keep that sub just to binge Sopranos, The Wire, GoT, etc.”.

In the gaming space, however, he contended that Microsoft has struggled to make its newer releases feel as essential as its older library titles.

“You need those games your studios are producing to become smash hits, cultural events that everyone wants to play - but what was the big Xbox game in recent years that was just delightfully good? That game doesn’t exist,” he stated.

The Moon Studios chief was particularly critical of Microsoft’s first-party studios, arguing that many have “floundered” in recent years. He cited Bethesda’s Starfield as a prime example, suggesting that the highly anticipated space epic failed to deliver on fan expectations of a “Skyrim in space” experience, instead landing to a mixed reception.

Does Xbox Games Pass Encourage Mediocre Games?

Mahler went further, suggesting that Xbox and its development partners may have lost sight of “what’s a good game and what’s a mediocre game”. He argued that the company should have implemented stronger incentives “to produce massive hits, not just slop out mediocre content like a factory”.

He likened the subscription model to communism, claiming that releasing games directly into Game Pass removes the financial motivation for developers to pursue excellence.

“And if you then don’t get the quality you need, it all comes crashing down cause players will not pay up unless you basically force them to by making content that’s so good that they feel like they miss out if they don’t check it out,” he concluded.

While Mahler’s critique carries weight, it is not without its counterexamples. In recent years, Microsoft has launched several well-received first-party titles that performed strongly on Game Pass. Most notably, Forza Horizon 6, which debuted just weeks ago, has already sold millions of copies and is emerging as a serious contender for Game of the Year.

We want to hear from you: Do you agree with Thomas Mahler’s assessment? What do you believe has held Xbox Game Pass back in recent years? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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