Ex-PlayStation boss says Game Pass may not be healthy for game developers

Former PlayStation Worldwide Studios boss Shawn Layden indicates that Game Pass may not actually be healthy for game developers, saying that the service turns them into "wage slaves."

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Despite its high value proposition, Xbox Game Pass is one of the most contentious subscription services on the market. Critics say that Game Pass could devalue games over time, and the FTC trial in 2023 did confirm that Game Pass "cannibalizes" game sales, that is to say users choose to subscribe rather than to buy.

We've talked about Game Pass a whole lot here at TweakTown, and we were the first to report on the $1.9 billion revenue figure in 2022. Since then, Game Pass has more than doubled its earnings; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says Game Pass made nearly $5 billion last year.

• Read more: Game Pass is a profitable business that earned $5 billion last year, Xbox president reiterates
• Read more: Xbox first-party, third-party purchases surge by double digits, Game Pass payouts at new high

In an industry, revenue isn't everything--neither are profits. Companies have to also think about the macro environment, eg how services like PS Plus and Game Pass affect the industry. Both subscriptions have actually helped fund indie projects that have launched day one into the service, games that may not otherwise have been made if it weren't for the subscriptions.

Despite this, ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has a differing opinion on Game Pass, saying that the service model isn't very inspiring to creatives.

Here's what Layden said in a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz:

"There's a lot of debates going on. Is Game Pass profitable? Is Game Pass not profitable? What does that mean? That's really not the right question to ask anyway."

"You can do all kinds of financial jiggery-pokery for any sort of corporate service to make it look profitable if you wanted to. You take enough costs out and say 'that's off the balance sheet and, oh look, it's profitable now.'

"The real issue for me on things like Game Pass is, is it healthy for the developer?"

"They're not creating value, putting it in the marketplace, hoping it explodes [and leads to] profit sharing and overages--all that nice stuff. It's just, 'You pay me X dollars an hour, I built you a game, here, go put it on your servers'."

"I don't think it's really inspiring for game developers."