Xbox Game Pass Eats Up Game Sales, Microsoft Confirms

Xbox Game Pass, which offers various games to its subscribers, is affecting the sales of gaming titles negatively, Microsoft confirmed.

The tech giant reportedly sent evidence to the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (UK CMA) as the regulator scrutinizes its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Xbox Game Pass Affects Game Sales

As per a recent report by Kotaku, the provisional report of the UK CMA confirms that Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass is eating up the sales of gaming titles.

It states that when games are added to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, the sales of these titles start to decline.

Microsoft introduced its subscription gaming service back in 2017, and it has been successful ever since. It offers its subscribers access to various games for a relatively low monthly or annual fee. They could also get their hands on discounted DLCs and other exclusive benefits.

But this time, Microsoft confirmed that Game Pass decreases the sales of gaming titles in the evidence that the Xbox maker sent to the UK CMA.

The provisional report of the CMA notes that "Microsoft also submitted that its internal analysis shows a [redacted]% decline in base game sales twelve months following their addition on Game Pass."

Phil Spencer Previously Says Otherwise

The Xbox boss previously stated in a 2018 interview that the Game Pass service actually increases sales of gaming titles, according to Game Spot.

He explains that "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."

Spencer admits that "some people have questioned that."

But despite that, the big boss of Xbox says that the debut of the "State of Decay 2" backs his belief. He added, saying that "if you looked in the US at the NPD, you saw this game selling really well the month it launched on Game Pass."

Essentially, it appears that the Xbox boss previously stated that the gaming subscription service is helping the sales of games once they join the library of Game Pass.

Microsoft recently sent evidence showing that Game Pass negatively affects game sales as the UK CMA looks into its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.