Dishonored director calls Game Pass an "unsustainable model" for the industry

Arkane founder and Dishonored co-director Raphaël Colantonio says Xbox Game Pass is an "unsustainable model" that's been damaging the videogame industry for years, and that it can't continue to exist alongside other similar subscriptions. Colantonio adds that Game Pass should be an avenue for access to the back catalogue, because otherwise it just hurts videogames at large.

In case you've never heard of Colantonio, they founded Arkane Studios all the way back in 1999. They'd then go on to direct industry classics at the developer like Arx Fatalis, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Dishonored, and Prey. During this time, Bethesda parent company Zenimax Media acquired Arkane in 2010, with Colantonio later leaving the studio in 2017. Then, in 2021, Zenimax Media was in turn bought by Microsoft for $7.5 billion.

Colantonio's new comments about Game Pass aren't just coming out of thin air, either. On Wednesday June 2 Microsoft confirmed it would be laying off 9,000 of its workers, with a number of these losses hitting the Xbox division. This has led to multiple game cancellations like that of Rare's Everwild, Zenimax Online's new MMO, and The Initiative's Perfect Dark Reboot. These were some of the biggest upcoming PC games we were looking forward to, and now it looks like they might never see the light of day.

"Why is no-one talking about the elephant in the room? Cough cough (Game Pass)," Colantonio writes on X. Then, when asked about his opinion on the subscription service, Colantonio says, "I think Gamepass is an unsustainable model that has been increasingly damaging the industry for a decade, subsidized by Microsoft's 'infinite money,' but at some point reality has to hit. I don't think Game Pass can co-exist with other models, they'll either kill everyone else, or give up."

This is when Larian's director of publishing Michael Douse weighs in, saying "'What happens when all that money runs out?' is the most vocal concern in my network." Colantonio replies, "I agree, and I'm fed up with all the BS they fed us at first like 'don't worry, it doesn't impact the sales', only to admit years later that it totally does. 'No shit it does! Really?'"

"The only way Game Pass can co-exist without hurting everyone is for the back catalogue," Colantonio continues. "It's a long game that involves throwing a tsunami at the entire ecosystem of the industry. Only the gamers like it because the offer is too good to be true, but eventually even gamers will hate it when they realize the effects on the games," they add in another reply to their initial post.

Microsoft first launched Game Pass in 2017, and since then it's been a cheaper alternative than paying to own a handful of triple-A games a year. Plenty of Xbox's first-party launches come to the service on day one, with myriad indie games and classics also part of the offering. That said, many industry figures have been questioning the long-term impact and viability of Game Pass in recent years, with this month's layoffs reigniting the discussion.

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