Xbox Game Pass looks from the outside to be a resounding success. For consumers especially, as it gives out the latest games for a monthly fee, meaning if you even play just a couple of brand-new titles a year, you've essentially got your money's worth from the subscription.
But, according to a recent study by Newzoo (via TheGamer), the firm found that there was no difference in the way Game Pass subscribers engaged with games compared to PlayStation players. Xbox consumers aren't necessarily playing more games than PlayStation users, nor are they gaming for more hours.
"Despite all the efforts done by Microsoft with Game Pass - the acquisition of many studios, and the release of very high-quality games in Game Pass, we struggled to find significant, different behaviour compared to players on PlayStation," said Emmanuel Rosier, Newzoo's director of market intelligence, on the Game Wise podcast. "So we were a bit surprised that there was not like a visible 'Game Pass effect' on the behaviour of players."
Rosier did point out that the study only looked at games played for more than two hours, which could indicate Game Pass users are picking up but not sticking with a lot of titles. Moreover, Rosier fears big games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 may be cannibalised by Game Pass, as their inclusion in the service may lead to less interest and sales.