We know for the first time how important Xbox Game Pass is compared to its competitors. Not surprisingly, Microsoft’s service dominates the market.
Since its inception, and especially since the introduction of exclusive games on day one of subscription, Xbox Game Pass has become one of the biggest talking points in the video game industry. This service, which offers access to a large catalog of high-quality games, has quickly become very popular among gamers.
As Sony prepares to respond with a new subscription offering, we now have a better idea of Xbox Game Pass’s weight compared to its rivals.
60% of the Xbox Game Pass market
In a comparison between the different video game services in the west, carried out by Ampere Analysis, a company specialized in analyzing the media, sports and video game market, we can note that Microsoft has managed to capture 60% of the market with the conquer Xbox GamePass.
It’s still a tiny little part of all gaming. But Microsoft has a commanding lead in the Netflix for Games race. And that’s before it hits Activision. (Glide by @PiersHR ) pic.twitter.com/5wdSCESkNU
— Dave Lee (@DaveLeeFT) March 23, 2022
In second place we find Apple Arcade with 9% market share, followed by Google Play Pass, PlayStation Now and EA Play with 7% market share each. Remember that we are only talking about services that allow access to a catalog of video games. Services such as Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus are therefore not included.
It should also be noted that this is a representation of market value (in dollars) and not user. However, subscriptions are not all sold at the same price by the different publishers. The EA Play service is marketed at €3.99 per month, while Ubisoft Plus is offered at €14.99 per month.
A ratio of 1 to 8 between Sony and Microsoft
Most impressive, however, is the difference between Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now. These are two services provided by console manufacturers and the PlayStation brand is much more popular than the Xbox brand around the world. Still, according to Ampere, there’s almost a one-to-ten ratio between Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Now results.
We better understand why Sony is considering a new strategy by merging PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now into one new subscription. It will be interesting to compare the market situation a year from now to see what progress PlayStation has made or not in this segment over Xbox.
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