Yeah I actually think this is somewhat impressive tbh. I imagine they will be less bullish now for next FY but will likely blow past those targets next time.
I mean no surprise there. Barely 10% under their estimates. Still not THAT bad.
Despite Outlanders, MLB (I don’t see both as big games appealing to a big audience) there was barely anything worth signing up for. Forza Horizon, Halo Infinite will be those games.
But this is good news for us. It shows MS the importance of content, even more so than before. They’re going to need to step up their game a lot more, if they want to attain the numbers they have in mind. Not only do they need more acquisitions badly, they also need the big 3P games day and date for the type of gamepass growth they’re looking for. In short, the bigger the investment=the bigger the engagement.
FYI it’s not just a raw 10-11% missed target. You don’t just subtract. It’s more like 20-25% (mental math) going from 48% to 37%
Saw someone point out that it missed its target in 2021 yeah, but in 2020 the target was 71% and they hit 85% so they’re still above their plotted trajectory.
Yeah this. Heard him mention it a few times on the podcast. Grubb too. Grubb said Jezs mistake is why Microsoft didn’t announce the numbers. They grew but not as much as was being rumored
Regardless, Game Pass needs games like Halo and Starfield to drive it to the next phase. Grubb is right on with his article in this regard. Mainstream isn’t coming for great Indies despite how many gamers (including myself) have adored the quality of them this year. Big tentpole games. Games that appeal to different worldwide regions. Games that translate well to streaming. Games that will drive PC gamers to play something not on Steam. Games for the family. I think at this point, they are near a saturation point with the Xbox hardcore. It’s OK to admit that. Microsoft has strategies to move to the next tier. As a Game Pass enthusiast who’s always open to more, it’ll be fun to see how they go about accomplishing these goals.
Need more big hitter as the 1st party games are not coming fast enough they need more 3rd party AAA games to launch day 1 on Gamepass with a Subscription service you always need more and more content or the number of Subscribers will slow down.
OBM speaketh the Truth.
At this point I’m not sure if this is even possible lol. Microsoft should just focus on getting Game Pass into Steam.
buy valve. all of it
Yes sir
They gotta market it better, get more constant bigger content to keep people from canceling and subbing when a 1st party game drops and they gotta get it on more devices in good shape.
Growth is growth, might not be as much as they wanted but it wasn’t too far off, the good thing is this will push them harder to get it to go faster which means better things for us.
Still think they will run out of Xbox owners to convert sooner than folks think. As long as MS can’t pump out a ton of consoles, I expect growth will slow.
They’ll need to find growth in PC and streaming, which are more challenging markets.
I hope Satya can afford his home after these devastating numbers. Is there a Patreon?
On a more serious not: not unexpected. I always thought Jez rumored numbers were too bullish after Covid blew up all gaming numbers last fiscal year. Other subscriptions contracted this year so a smaller growth for Game Pass with the chip shortage and gaming delays in mind sounds about right.
I think so too.
As for PC, they need a good store and big games at a rate where purchasing each on Steam would be too expensive. Steam-fanatics are as hardcore as the PS Cultists.
Worse
These people complain about a LAUNCHER
Also larger markets. Get gamepass streaming on every smart TV and start converting ponies even if they won’t admit they are subbed.
It should pick up again from November but they need to get more Series consoles out there. The more we go into this gen the fewer active Xbox one owners will be using the service. People want to upgrade and they can’t find the consoles.
Wells that a Universal problem right now sadly.