Xbox Game Pass is managed terribly with very little foresight, according to Andrew Willis, a veteran from id Software who was laid off during structural cuts in July. Willis argued that the subscription model suffers from a poor understanding of consumer markets and chased a flawed Netflix-style transformation.
The Structural Flaws of the Subscription Model
Speaking to Kiwi Talks, Willis didn’t hold back his criticism of Microsoft’s flagship gaming service. He stated that the platform was designed with astonishingly low attention to detail regarding what players actually want.
“I think that was made with so little foresight and with so little attention to detail or understanding of the consumer market,” Willis explained, targeting the overarching strategy that drove the platform’s expansion.
According to Willis, Microsoft fell straight into a predictable corporate trap. “I think they just fell into the trap of ‘Well, let’s turn everything into Netflix,'” he noted.
Why DOOM: The Dark Ages Didn’t Belong on Game Pass
The critique hit closer to home when discussing specific AAA titles launched directly onto the service. Willis asserted that major flagships were shoehorned into a monetisation ecosystem that fundamentally misunderstood their value proposition.
“Doom should not have been there. It was a stupid idea,” Willis declared, evaluating the inclusion of high-profile releases like DOOM: The Dark Ages.
Willis pointed out that Microsoft never figured out how to define or measure the actual success of Game Pass. Executives chased conflicting metrics without establishing a coherent standard for health.
“Were those hours played?” Willis asked regarding the internal confusion over telemetry. “Were those games installed, or user retention? Me and a lot of my peers certainly never heard about benchmarks or metrics to reach.”
Shifting Metrics and Corporate Priorities
“When you start making commercial art decisions driven by investors rather than consumers, or even developers, you end up making pretty big mistakes,” Willis said. “And I don’t think Microsoft ever managed to figure out how to measure the success of Game Pass exactly.”
Asha Sharma, CEO of Xbox, recently acknowledged that the broader business model requires heavy adaptation. Sharma outlined a path forward centered on multi-platform releases, Game Pass expansion, and a broader portfolio of titles to secure long-term viability.
Meanwhile, the platform prepares for routine content updates, scheduling titles like Gears of War: E-Day across late September and early October. Yet, industry whispers suggest a larger revolution might hit the service by 2027, potentially reshaping day-one launches and cloud streaming tiers as consumer pushback mounts.
