The creator of A Way Out criticized the subscription business model for games: "how do they pay developers?"
Josef Fares, who was at the helm of the action adventure A Way Out, is not sure about the future of subscription services like Xbox Game Pass. According to the game designer, their main problem is an opaque system of payments to developers.
A Way Out
Fares shared his reasoning in a conversation with Polygon.
During the interview, he noted that the game subscription model is not as good as it seems.
I'm not really sure if the Netflix system will work with games. I also do not know how it will work in the long run. The only thing that scares me a little is how developers are paid? I don't know that.
Founder of Hazelight Studios
The game designer offered his own version of how the payout system could look like. In it, developers would receive money depending on the time that players spent in games. But as Fares himself noted, in this case, the authors of short titles would suffer.
In the end, Fares admitted that he actually likes the idea of subscription services. They say they give gamers access to a variety of games. That’s just, according to the developer, subscriptions should not do this at the expense of studios.
Recall that back in November, the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, admitted that Microsoft is still looking for the perfect financial model for the Game Pass. Despite the fact that the service was launched back in 2017, the company still does not have a clear strategy related to payments. According to Spencer, at the moment Microsoft is forced to negotiate with each specific developer.
It is worth noting that Fares’ game A Way Out is part of the Game Pass. The game designer does not deny that his next game It Takes Two may also become part of the subscription, but for now he is looking for other ways to promote it. The title will be released on March 26 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
