Summary
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has recently reinforced the company’s decision not to release its games on day one onXbox Game Pass, calling the idea irrational. While Take-Two Interactive has added popular games such asGrand Theft Auto 5toXbox Game Passbefore, the publisher never did the same with its major games during releases.
Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed thatCall of Duty: Black Ops 6would be on Game Pass on day one. This was seen as a controversial move, considering thatCall of Dutyis one of the most profitable franchises in gaming, and Microsoft risks losing money by offering it on its subscription service.
Now, Take-Two Interactive’sStrauss Zelnick told GamesIndustry.bizthat the publisher’s stance on releasing major titles on subscription services at launch has not changed. According to Zelnick,Call of Duty’s addition to Game Pass is likely to push more consumers to the service “for at least a period of time.” However, he also clarified that “No, it won’t affect our decisions. Because our decisions are rational.”
Take-Two CEO Criticizes Microsoft’s Day One Game Pass Policy
Zelnick not seeing the rationality behind the decision to put major releases on subscription services makes sense when considering that Take-Two Interactive does not have any product remotely similar to Game Pass. Take-Two’s revenue is directly dependent on selling games, whileMicrosoft is currently betting hard on Game Pass, believing in its future growth. Also, it’s unlikely that Microsoft would pay as much money as Take-Two would lose by putting eagerly anticipated titles such asGTA 6on Game Pass, for example.
No, it won’t affect our decisions. Because our decisions are rational.
This was a fairly controversial move, however, as critics have pointed out that Microsoft’s new tiers can be confusing to consumers.Xbox Game Pass Standard will get first-party gamesafter an undisclosed amount of time, which may range from six months to “sometimes longer,” and this lack of clarity could potentially affect trust in Microsoft’s service. In any case, time will tell how successful Microsoft’s changes to its subscription service will be.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft’s flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you can play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.
