Game Pass Was A Good Idea But It Didn’t Work, Forza Horizon 5 Creative Director Says
Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription service aimed at revolutionizing game access, has failed to achieve the subscriber numbers necessary to sustain the company’s gaming division. Creative director Mike Brown of Forza Horizon 5 recently acknowledged that while the service was “a good idea,” it simply “didn’t work” as a viable business model.
The scale of the shortfall is substantial: Microsoft had projected 77 million subscribers but achieved approximately 30 million—less than 40% of the target. This gap has triggered significant consequences for Xbox, including studio shutdowns and widespread layoffs across Xbox Game Studios.
Brown expressed regret about the outcome, describing the situation as “really sad.” He emphasized that while Game Pass was conceived as a player-focused initiative with good intentions, the business model ultimately proved unsustainable. The resulting financial pressure has forced difficult decisions about which studios to maintain, close, or spin off.
Launched as a Netflix-style gaming service, Game Pass promised to fundamentally change how players access games through an affordable subscription model. However, the service failed to attract sufficient subscribers to justify its cost structure and support Microsoft’s broader gaming strategy. This represents a significant pivot for Xbox leadership and signals that subscription-based gaming services may face challenges in achieving profitable scale.