Raphaël Colantonio, the founder of Arkane and now leading WolfEye Studios, has stirred the pot with bold criticism of Xbox’s Game Pass model.
Following the recent layoffs of over 9,000 employees across Microsoft’s gaming divisions, Colantonio voiced his frustrations online, pointing to Game Pass as a core reason behind what he sees as a broken system.
In his words, the subscription-based model is not just unsustainable-it’s actively harmful to the gaming industry. “It’s been damaging for a decade, kept alive only by Microsoft’s bottomless bank account,” he said. His concern is that once the competition is subdued, Microsoft will crank up subscription prices while lowering the quality of its titles-an all-too-familiar monopolistic cycle.
Backing Colantonio’s stance, analysts like Rhys Elliott from Alinea argue that gaming simply doesn’t fit the same mold as streaming movies or music. Games require more time to experience and produce, and players don’t binge them like TV episodes. That makes the all-you-can-play model difficult to sustain without eroding long-term value.
“They told us it wouldn’t impact sales. Years later, they admitted it does. No surprise there,” Colantonio added, pointing to Microsoft’s eventual courtroom admission that Game Pass does in fact cannibalize sales, sometimes by as much as 80%. That erosion affects smaller studios the most-studios like the one Colantonio once helmed.
He suggests a compromise: Game Pass should be used only for older titles, not new day-one blockbusters. This mirrors Sony’s approach with PlayStation Plus, which reserves early access for full-price buyers. Microsoft, however, has stuck to its promise of offering first-party titles on day one-something that has helped Game Pass reach an estimated 35 million users, though still short of projections.
Supporters of Game Pass point to its growing content library and increasing revenues. Ampere Analysis predicts the service will generate nearly $5.5 billion in 2025, with Microsoft spending $2.5 billion annually on content. Even so, some critics argue that profitability doesn’t equal sustainability when quality declines and developer freedom suffers.
The larger issue, however, is industry-wide. Colossal development budgets, rising marketing costs, and publisher pressure are squeezing studios regardless of platform. Game Pass is simply the most visible symptom of a deeper problem: the unsustainable economics of modern AAA game development.
As for Colantonio, his next game-a retro sci-fi FPS-seems poised to buck the system. Whether Microsoft listens or not, more voices from inside the industry are starting to echo the same concern: maybe Game Pass isn’t the future we were promised.