Lightyear Frontier developers explain why they launched on Game Pass

Today, Game Pass as a concept is no longer new and many other companies have launched their own subscription service for games. As you probably know, Microsoft releases its own titles directly to Game Pass, but it is also common for third party games to be launched on day one, often indie games.

Many have debated the effects of this, both good and bad, and in a new interview with TrueAchievements, Frame Break CEO Joakim Kopriva Hedström talks about his decision to release the newly released Lightyear Frontier straight to Game Pass. He says that he sees it as a great way to reach a new audience that might not otherwise be willing to buy such an odd title, and claims that the concept is "surprisingly difficult to explain in words (there are many ways for people to interpret 'mech farming') so our hope is that being on Game Pass will lower the barrier of entry for people on the fence to try out the game and get what it's all about."

He also says that Microsoft was involved early on in the production, before it was even announced, when Frame Break chose the ID@Xbox program to self-publish Lightyear Frontier. This later led to a lot of positive attention and the decision to release it on Game Pass at the premiere. Now they hope more gamers will dare to broaden their horizons:

"Lowering the barrier of entry does a lot to make players try out games they otherwise would be hesitant to buy, and makes it easier than ever for players to explore and expand their taste in games. My hope is that this allows for more experimental and niche games to find their audience and thrive, where they would otherwise have struggled on traditional distribution platforms."

We really liked Lightyear Frontier (Early Access) and you can read our thoughts about it over here in our review. But what do you think, has Game Pass made gamers venture into titles that they would otherwise be hesitant to buy?