Xbox Game Pass is getting some heat from former Sony Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden, as the conversation surrounding game prices, market trends, and value for the consumer reaches a boiling point. Recently, Microsoft laid off over 9000 employees and canceled several game projects, leading to Xbox being in the spotlight for further conversations regarding video game business practices, and Layden doesn't have positive things to say.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Layden, along with Circana senior director Mat Piscatella, and Ampere Analysis head of games research Piers Harding-Rolls, discussed the current state of the industry. Layden blasted the Xbox Game Pass subscription model, saying: "I'm not a big supporter of the 'Netflix of gaming' idea. I think it is a danger."
Xbox Game Pass and other video game subscription services have changed the way games are priced. When it comes to Game Pass, specifically, Layden compared it to Spotify and its impact on the music industry, saying: "It's 15 bucks a month or something, but virtually no one buys music anymore." Layden then said that at least the music industry has other means of profit, like huge concert tours, while the game industry doesn't have that.
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