This is a good point I hadn’t considered. Stuff that isn’t really small scale indie, but also isn’t AAA blockbuster enough to sell everywhere it is released. Probably a good amount of Japanese titles could fit that bill, where they skip Xbox because it wasn’t worth the investment but with GP MS can give them guaranteed $$$ in the bank upfront and I bet tons of players would then give the titles a chance.
Frankly, I’d like to see them get to 20 studios and start branching more of them out into 2nd teams (they already are in many cases, but would love seeing nearly all doing this). I’d also love to see every single game on Xbox launch on Game Pass by the end of the gen. If they can pull in the big publishers and find success there, that will percolate out to the rest of the industry pretty fast. That would be my big picture goal if I were running the GP team.
Like they said on Field of Dreams, “if you build it he will come.” Games like Yakuza or Dragon Quest are never going to sale like they do on other platforms, but if they build an audience, I bet they can sale good enough that it will justify putting the game on Xbox. I was always curious about Yakuza, and after playing them on Gamepass, I have already preordered the game for Series X. Same goes for Dragon Quest if XII launches on Xbox, which it would be ridiculous if it didn’t. Gamepass is perfect for building an audience out of franchises or genres that people think Xbox users are not interested on. If a small indie game like Descendants can be enormously successful, then what’s stopping Trails of Cold Steel, Persona or Y’s from being as successful and even more through Gamepass?
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I’m still on team Cyberpunk 2077 being on game pass day 1, I know it sounds crazy but the amount of press, hype and sign ups just for that one game would be immense. Not only that people will see how good game pass really is and possibly stick with the sub after they finish Cyberpunk. They could always do a short window just like 3 months so it’s cheaper plus it won’t hurt sales as much as you think.
People might not be finished with the game in 3 months time so they will just purchase it anyway and can use the 20% off sale that happens when games leave. MS is all about getting people into game pass and this would be a massive move to get people in.
By the time series x launches, dirt 5 will have been out for like a month, as it launches in mid October and series x is in November. They will have forza horizon 4 next gen upgrade for launch, does that count? 
On topic: I don’t know about finances, but I’d rather they get recent games, like 3-6 months old on gamepass. I think it would cost much less than at launch but it would still be a big get. If you’re so interested in a game, buy it at launch, if not, get it a couple of months later on gamepass. That way we could get more big AAA games on the service. But if Microsoft doesn’t care for money, then go ahead with day one, I won’t complain
Yeah man I agree with this, would be huge!
What people are expecting from this: Batman Gotham Knights Day 1
What will actually happen: Biomutant Day 1
Biomutant looks lowkey heat tho, I’m not as big on the art direction yet, but the gameplay seems very solid, they just need to get some of that jank out of the animations and it’ll do good!
Wouldn’t even be mad.
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I was just about to post this exact same thing. A “launch window” GP game for 3 months. My reasoning was as follows:
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Halo’s absence leaves a large hole. Cyberpunk, the best playing version on every console, could fill that in rather well.
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The Series X will unquestionably offer the most value. There may be millions looking to buy Cyberpunk and buy a next gen console. Getting the XSX and likely an offer for $1 Gamepass for 3 months for new subs would make the XSX a must buy for this holiday season and the PS5 something that could be bought later. Getting 20+ next gen experiences day one (including the biggest 3rd party game of the year) for $499/599 + $1 as compared to $499/599 + $50 for a PS5 plus Spiderman…the value is undeniable.
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It’s the closest thing to a pack-in game without actually doing it. And as you’ve said, it brings attention to all the other games on GP as well. The timing is also near perfect, with the game launching just after mid-November. Conceivably, gamers can buy the XSX and start the download for C2077 to have it unlocked in the 19th.
Phil has said he doesn’t like moneyhatting timed exclusives, and is committed to consumer-friendly practices. This addresses both by not taking the game away from the PlayStation or Steam, but giving consumers yet another option to play the game. I’m sure this would cost MS a pretty penny, but rumours are flying that Sony is looking to make some big 3rd party games exclusive as well. GTA6, and so on. It’s costly but also inoffensive to consumers and definitely attracts people to the Xbox.
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Ignore this man Phil, go wild, even though I agree with him XD.
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This sounds very logical. The only question is whether the millions required to pull this deal off will matter enough in console sales. The price to get the biggest 3rd party game of the year is gonna be monstrous, even it it’s only for 3 months. You need to sell a lot of consoles to make up for that.
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Once people are in the eco system and see what game pass has to offer you hope they stay and renew the subscription. From there hopefully people friends may follow suit and go all in on xbox to start with. Would be an interesting experiment any way to see if its worth it.
Indeed. I mean, apples to oranges, but they spent some 100 million dollars on various streamers for a streaming platform that has since died. They could try throwing a sum in that ballpark to a game like Cyberpunk and see what happens. It may not pay off, but eventually you gotta take bold risks. Netflix paid like 50 million quids each (if I’m not mistaken) for movies like Annihilation or The Cloverfield Paradox.
Agree with everything you said 
if the game pass thing they could just include 3 months in the box free so people wouldn’t even need to spend money. They could market the XSX as the best place to play games and they could also say something along the lines
“With 3 months Xbox Game Pass included in the box we have your Holiday gaming needs sorted with over 100 games included in your subscription and every Xbox title also Cyberpunk 2077 is in game pass day 1!”
Something along those lines, I’m sure marketing team could make that work haha. Hearing about the 100 “free” games to play over the christmas holidays would probably be a huge boon for them.
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CDPR explicitly said it isn’t happening. Could be cool to go into GP on XSX launch day maybe! Assuming the game launches prior to the new console.
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There was rumours of it, they said it wasn’t happening which is not saying much it’s not like they were going to announce it that day. The reason why they probably said no it’s not happening to stop people from cancelling their preorder, if they announce it a month or couple weeks before people will probably forget to cancel or w/e.
Of course they can be 100% truthful and it’s not happening but who knows!
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Yeah, the amount of money Microsoft spent this gen on studios alone eclipses what Sony could afford, and I think it’s disingenuous to say otherwise. Sony’s spending on gaming as their number one priority makes sense though given that the company is worth a tenth of what they were a decade ago and gaming has consistently been (since the PS4’s launch) one of their only profitable divisions. That doesn’t imply Microsoft hasn’t been successful additionally however, as the company has continued to have a rather solid (and definitely profitable) generation; Nadella wouldn’t have signed off on all those massive R&D investments for the One X, XSX, and XCloud, or all of the past and future studio purchases if he didn’t see the performance to justify doing so.
Edit: On my last point, I meant to mention that’s the case despite the internet’s armchair analysts claiming that only one company can be successful, or that it’s some sort of zero sum game.
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