As conversation focuses on Xbox Game Pass' effect on the industry, a prominent games industry analyst says the top live service games are a far bigger threat than any game pass style subscription.
Microsoft had its fourth round of layoffs in less than two years earlier this month, this round had games canceled, studios shut down, and around 9,000 people out of a job across all of Microsoft. Naturally, no one is happy with the company; especially when the memo announcing the layoffs simultaneously claimed that Xbox has "never looked stronger."
In the wake of this there was some specific backlash aimed at Xbox Game Pass, with Arkane founder Raphael Colantonio calling it "an unsustainable model" that's been "damaging the industry for a decade." Despite this, it was reported that US video game subscription spending reached an all-time monthly high in May 2025, this includes your console subscriptions like Game Pass and Switch Online, as well as the likes of MMOs.
However, Circana games industry analyst Mat Piscatella has another view on the opinion that Game Pass is bad for the industry. Instead, he believes that the likes of Fortnite and Marvel Rivals are a far bigger threat. Piscatella says, "The top 10 live service games sucking nearly half of all gaming hours from the PS and XBX ecosystems before any other game can even get a taste is a far bigger threat than the sub model."
It's true that the live service market is the end-goal for a lot of companies, but we've also seen a ton of live service games chase the trend and then die quickly, with the likes of XDefiant, Rumbleverse, and, of course, Concord. But the ones that do take off are hard to beat, considering something like Fortnite has near infinite amounts of content for free.
That being said, I can see why Xbox offering every single one of its first party games day one and then laying off so many members of staff has people worried about the sustainability of Game Pass.
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