Gaming subscriptions account for 4% of the total revenue generated by the North American and European gaming markets, it has been claimed.
Ampere Analysis research director Piers Harding-Rolls estimates that subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Switch Online generate $3.7 billion annually.
That compares to nearly $81 billion generated from other gaming spending, Axios reports.
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service, which charges up to $15/£11 per month and has attracted 25 million members since its launch in June 2017, has around 60% of the subscription market, according to Harding-Rolls.
Xbox – April 2022 Games with Gold
While the subscription market is clearly not insignificant and growing, it seems that some people misunderstand its current size.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer said this month that developers frequently ask him whether their titles need to be on Game Pass to have a chance of succeeding on the company’s consoles.
“I also want to make it clear to the people who are there that for us at Xbox there isn’t just one business model that we think is going to win,” he said. “Developers often ask me, ‘If I’m not on the subscription, am I no longer viable on Xbox?’ and that is absolutely not true.
“As we look at the retail of people selling games, buying games, that’s a big part of our P&L [profit and loss statement], You know. And that’s something we’re investing resources into to enable our developers to do a great job there.
On Tuesday, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced its expanded PlayStation Plus service, which includes a library of old and classic games, among other features.
In one GamesIndustry.biz In an interview accompanying the announcement, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said he doesn’t think game subscription models will ever dominate the way Spotify and Netflix do in music and movies.
“Subscription has certainly grown in importance over the past few years,” he said. “Our number of PlayStation Plus subscribers has grown from zero in 2010 to 48 million now. And we anticipate for our services that we will see further subscriber growth.
“But the gaming medium is so different from music and linear entertainment, that I don’t think we’ll see it reach the levels we see with Spotify and Netflix.”
Instead, Ryan said he thinks players will continue to flock to live service games similar to Fortnite and Call of Duty Warzone. Under his leadership, SIE began investing more in online gaming through deals such as its $3.6 billion purchase of Destiny creator Bungie.
