Xbox Game Pass was a good idea in theory, former Forza Horizon 5 director says, but “the reality is not enough people have subscribed”

Mike Brown, former creative director of Forza Horizon 5 at Playground Games, has attributed Xbox’s current crisis to the failure of Game Pass to achieve Microsoft’s subscriber targets. Speaking on MinnMax, Brown acknowledged that Game Pass was “a good idea in theory” but lamented that “the reality is not enough people have subscribed.”

Brown, now leading development on open-world racer Clutch at his newly founded Maverick Games studio, explained that Microsoft invested heavily in Game Pass and used it to justify massive acquisitions and game funding across multiple studios. However, the service’s inability to hit required subscriber numbers has had cascading consequences for the entire Xbox division.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is currently overseeing the most significant restructuring in Xbox history, which has already eliminated 1,600 jobs with another 1,600 planned for the coming financial year. The restructuring has also resulted in four studios leaving Microsoft ownership, with additional departures expected. Sharma has stated that Microsoft’s gaming business “is not healthy.”

Despite his criticism, Brown still viewed Game Pass’ core concept as sound—the failure was in execution and market adoption rather than the strategic vision itself. His comments reflect industry-wide concern about the sustainability of aggressive subscription service models and highlight how Xbox’s ambitious content acquisition strategy was ultimately unsustainable without the subscriber base to justify it.

Xbox Game Pass was a good idea in theory, former Forza Horizon 5 director says, but “the reality is not enough people have subscribed”

Sources