Sega is reported to be "really happy" with Game Pass, with a number of the publisher's titles seeing a dramatic increase in player numbers.
In a recent interview with Eurogamer, many developers and publishers were asked about their opinions on Xbox Game Pass and how it has affected the development of their respective games. Sega is just one of the publishers that have claimed the service has tremendous benefits to game development. When asked about the impact of Game Pass, Sega Europe's vice president of commercial publishing Anna Downing responds:
"We're really happy with the results and we hope [Microsoft] are too. Ultimately, they wanted quality titles, we wanted to take advantage of a great new opportunity."
Downing then goes on to explain that Two Point Hospital - the highly popular, spiritual sequel to Bullfrog's Theme Hospital - has performed incredibly well on Game Pass, claiming that the service has "helped propel the franchise to over 3 million players worldwide." It's likely that Sega's other properties that have recently made their way to Game Pass will also have seen increased player numbers.
Sega is one of the bigger publishers to fully embrace Game Pass, with a number of its most popular titles on the service. Alongside Two Point Hospital is the critically acclaimed horror title Alien Isolation as well the entirety of the Yakuza franchise up to Yakuza: Like A Dragon. It's clear that Sega is a big fan of the service and Downing's comments to Eurogamer only highlight how beneficial it has been to the publisher.
However, not everyone is a fan of Microsoft's business model. Director of A Way Out and the upcoming It Takes Two, Josef Fares, spoke in a recent interview about how he prefers Sony's strategy over Microsoft's, claiming that Sony has a more unique and story-heavy approach to development. He also likens Game Pass to the "Netflix of gaming" and has concerns over how it will affect the industry in the future.
It's clear right now though that Game Pass is immensely popular among Xbox players. It was recently reported that over 18 million of the Xbox's 100 million player base has signed up to Game Pass. With those numbers and that level of success, Microsoft is only going to expand the service even further over the coming generation.
Source: Eurogamer