Microsoft admitted in a recent report to the UK"s UK Competition and Markets Authority that putting a game on its Xbox Game Pass service could result it a "decline in base game sales twelve months following their addition" to the service. Now Microsoft is doing a little bit of damage control, but it does not directly dispute its statement to the CMA.
GameSpot reports that Microsoft sent in a statement saying that each game included in Xbox Game Pass is "unique", and they work with each developer and publisher "to build a custom program to reflect what they need". Microsoft also says it compensates each developer for their placement in the service, although obviously the company declined to say how much compensation is given out.
The statement added:
Xbox Game Pass offers gamers and game creators more choice and opportunity in how they discover, experience, and deliver games. For gamers, that means providing another option for them to discover games and play with friends at a great value. For developers, that means creating another option for how they monetize their games.
There are a few developers who have revealed sales of their games after they are included in Xbox Game Pass. One is the mountain biking game Descenders, which hit Xbox Game Pass in 2019. Mike Rose, the head of the game"s publisher No More Robots, told Gameindustry.biz at the time that Xbox game sales "quadrupled" after it was added to Xbox Game Pass. Rose did add, however, that such a rise could just be a temporary effect.
In any case, the jury is still out on whether Xbox Game Pass is truly worth it in the long run for developers and publishers who use it for their games.