Former Xbox exec says Game Pass might stop people buying games

A former Xbox exec says that Game Pass makes him "nervous" as it could stop people from buying games.

With a colossal library of games as well as day-one releases of huge titles like Gears of War 5 and Halo Infinite, Xbox Game Pass offers exceptional value for money and is a no-brainer for those who want to play great games but not spend a fortune. Not everyone is a big fan of the platform’s subscription-based service though, namely Ed Fries, former vice president of game publishing at Xbox.

Fries appeared on episode 132 of Xbox Expansion Pass to discuss his career, Xbox’s performance in Japan, and the company’s current strategy. When asked if there is any change that he would make to Microsoft's present approach, he replies, "The one thing that they’re doing that makes me nervous is Game Pass." Fries goes on to compare the service to Spotify, which he says "destroyed the music business."

"I mean, it literally cut the annual revenue of the music business in half, and it’s made it so people just don’t buy songs anymore," explains Fries. He does acknowledge that the value for money Game Pass provides makes it great for customers but argues that this approach isn’t necessarily the best thing for the industry as it might stop people from buying games. "We have to be careful we don’t create the same system in the game business. I mean, these markets are more fragile than people realize," he says.

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Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.