Jeff Grubb: Hi-Fi Rush “Did Not Make The Money It Needed To Make”

UPDATE: Aaron Greenberg, VP of Xbox Games Marketing, has replied on Twitter that Microsoft considers Hi-Fi Rush to be a success. In his words:

“Hi-Fi RUSH was a break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations. We couldn’t be happier with what the team at Tango Gameworks delivered with this surprise release.”

The original story follows below.

Jeff Grubb shared some sobering revelations about Hi-Fi Rush that put its shadow drop in a new light.

In the latest episode of his video podcast Jeff Grubb’s Game Mess, Jeff revealed that Hi-Fi Rush “straight up did not make the money that it needed to make.

“And, it got good reviews, the buzz was good, so where do you put the blame for something like that? Is it the price? Was it the shadow drop? Could it have sold more, or is it Game Pass? This is something I would love to ask Xbox about.”

Obviously, it has to be said that if this rumor is true, Microsoft has likely already crunched the numbers and come to their own conclusions on their mistake with Hi-Fi Rush.

The thing is, because of the arrangements that Microsoft has made, the public can’t make any clear conclusions on their own about this.

When a game goes on Game Pass, the money that the game possibly made through being played on Game Pass becomes unclear. Presumably, Microsoft would make that a Hi-Fi Rush became profitable for them on Game Pass based on different metrics, for example, the playtime that players had for the game. But ultimately, it would be something like finding out if a player signed up for Game Pass to get Hi-Fi Rush, or will decide to renew their subscription to keep having Hi-Fi Rush available. Whichever metrics Microsoft uses, that data is simply not available to the public, and we rely on Microsoft to share and explain that data.

To add to that, Microsoft has hidden away the profits they make from different divisions in their quarterly and annual reports. That includes Xbox, so once again, unless Microsoft shares the information, we have no way of knowing what it is.

What we do know is that Bethesda revealed early last month that Hi-Fi Rush had gone past two million players. Again, that two million player metric accounts for people who bought the game at retail price, and people who played it through Game Pass. Microsoft and Bethesda did not disclose how many of those players were Game Pass subscribers.

It is likely that Bethesda and Microsoft higher ups know if they have deemed Hi-Fi Rush a success, and less likely but also possible that Tango Gameworks employees know too. That success or failure would direct the studio on what games they would be making in the future, if a Hi-Fi Rush 2 is in production or in the backburner.