PlayStation’s boss claims publishers ‘unanimously dislike’ Xbox Game Pass

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) boss Jim Ryan has claimed publishers are opposed to Xbox’s Game Pass subscription model.

Ryan was speaking during a video deposition aired on Tuesday during Microsoft’s ongoing court case against the US Federal Trade Commission, which is seeking to block the Xbox maker’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

During his deposition, Microsoft’s lawyer asked Ryan about comments he made to PlayStation investors in a meeting that took place about a month after Microsoft’s had announced plans to acquire the Call of Duty maker in January 2022.

Recounting the discussion, Microsoft’s lawyer said Ryan told investors that Game Pass had “driven them to make the large acquisition”.

Ryan reportedly continued: “I talked to all publishers and they unanimously do not like Game Pass because it’s value destructive.”

“Was that true at the time?” the lawyer asked.

“I believe it to have been true,” Ryan responded.

“You said you talked to all the publishers – did you?” pressed Microsoft’s lawyer.

“I talk to publishers all the time, and this is a very commonly held view over many years by the publishers,” Ryan responded.

Xbox Game Pass launched in June 2017 and has become central to Microsoft’s gaming business, attracting over 25 million subscribers as of January 2022, according to the company.

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It offers members access to over 100 titles, including all first-party games at launch, for $10 / £8 per month on console or PC. For $15 / £11, users can access the games on console, PC and mobile devices, including via Xbox Cloud Gaming. Game Pass prices for console will rise in July.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has claimed that Xbox Game Pass subscribers play approximately 40% more games and spend 50% more than non-members, benefiting game publishers.

Jim Ryan said on Tuesday he was expecting Game Pass to have attracted a larger subscriber base, given the amount of money Microsoft had spent on the service.

Elsewhere in his deposition, Ryan was asked how he felt about recent Bethesda games being released as Xbox exclusives after Microsoft purchased the publisher’s parent company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in 2021.

On Redfall being released in May for Xbox Series X/S and PC, he said: “I don’t like it, but I have no quarrel with it.” On the upcoming Starfield not releasing on PlayStation, he said: “I don’t like it, but I don’t view it as anticompetitive.”

During his deposition, Ryan also said SIE would withhold details about its next console from Activision if the company is acquired by Microsoft.