Xbox admits that putting games on Game Pass lowers sales

XBOX has said that games added to its Game Pass subscription see lower sales in the year following their inclusion.

As part of the investigation by the UK Competition and Marketing Authority (CMA), Xbox has provided evidence that Game Pass reduces game sales.

The CMA is investigating Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard for almost $70billion (£60billion).

Competitors such as Sony have claimed that the purchase would cause a monopoly in the gaming industry as Microsoft already owns a number of big development companies.

CEO of Xbox Gaming, Phil Spencer, previously claimed in 2018 that games being added to Xbox Game Pass saw an increase in sales.

It was claimed that the ‘try before you buy’ nature of Game Pass encouraged sales of these games at a later date.

He said: “When you put a game like Forza Horizon 4 on Game Pass, you instantly have more players of the game, which is actually leading to more sales of the game.

“You say, ‘Well isn't everyone just going to subscribe for $10 and go play this thing?’

“But no, gamers find things to play based on what everybody else is playing.”

However, the evidence that Xbox has now submitted to the CMA runs counter to these claims.

As found by , the CMA wrote in its report: “Microsoft submitted that its internal analysis shows a [redacted]% decline in base game sales twelve months following their addition on Game Pass.”

Activision has previously been against the addition of its games to subscription services believing it had a negative effect on sales.

A spokesperson previously claimed it, “severely cannibalises B2P [buy-to-play] sales, particularly in the case of newer releases.”

Sony has also taken this stance and only adds first-party PlayStation games to its subscription service a year after they release.