Phil Spencer Claims Starfield Will Be Profitable Thanks To Game Pass

There’s been plenty of discussions recently about video game development and what it takes to not only make a great game but a profitable one. In 2023 alone, we’ve seen titles that were rushed out to launch without much oversight or could’ve used some more time in the “cooker” before being released so that it could’ve been more refined visually. Then, there are the games that either have arrived this year or will arrive that have been worked on for years on end. One such title is Starfield, which many people anticipate, and just as many are curious about how well it’ll do.

The game was one of the highlights of the Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday. In that presentation, we got not only a new trailer for the game but an extended breakdown of its many features and the worlds you can go to. While not everything they said was a hit with everyone, like the 30FPS rate on console, the game is still anticipated.

But given how long Bethesda has taken to make the title, will it be profitable? Phil Spencer went onto Giant Bomb’s night podcast and talked about this and said how the game would be profitable not only because of base sales but because of its Day 1 arrival on Xbox Game Pass:

“When I look at Game Pass, we are absolutely going to make money on Starfield, touch wood, that’s the plan. And we will grow Game Pass, and Xbox will be a better platform both on PC and console,” Spencer said. “For us, it’s about expanding our platform reach, and we think important games like Starfield will be catalysts for Game Pass growth on many different platforms.”

That’s an interesting way of looking at things, and he might be onto something if things go the way he wants.

The Xbox Game Pass, indeed, is one of the more unique elements of the current gaming landscape as you can get AAA titles, both past and present, for the combined low price of $10 a month on the lowest level.

Many have questioned if the Game Pass is “hurting the industry,” but it’s apparently not scaring Xbox enough to keep their games off it.

Ultimately, we won’t fully know how Bethesda’s newest title will do on Game Pass, but for those on Xbox Series X/S or PC, we’ll see how the game plays there by the time September 6th arrives.