"Why is no-one talking about the elephant in the room?" Raphael Colantonio said.

Following widespread Xbox layoffs, former Arkane Studios president Raphael Colantonio has criticised Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass, labelling the subscription model as “unsustainable.”

The Dishonored and Prey co-creator, who left Arkane in 2017 and went on to found Weird West developer WolfEye Studios, voiced his opinion on X, stating,  “Why is no-one talking about the elephant in the room? Cough cough (Gamepass).”

“I think Game Pass is an unsustainable model that has been increasingly damaging the industry for a decade, subsidised by [Microsoft]’s ‘infinite money,’ but at some point reality has to hit,” he said. He aadded that he didn’t believe that Game Pass “can co-exist with other models, they’ll either kill everyone else, or give up.”

Colantonio also criticised Microsoft's shifting narrative about the effect of Game Pass on sales. While the company has previously claimed it doesn’t cannibalise purchases, internal acknowledgements have contradicted that position.

“The maths don’t work for most publishers/devs nor for Xbox once they stop investing,” Colantonio added.

Industry peers join Game Pass debate

The comments quickly ignited discussion, with several industry veterans weighing in. Michael “Cromwelp” Douse, publishing director at Baldur’s Gate 3 studio Larian, shared similar concerns:

He shared that a common question that pops up in conversations was “what happens when the money runs out?” adding that “The infinite money thing never made any sense.”

Douse added that while the model may help smaller teams mitigate risk, he personally prefers Sony’s strategy, which delays subscription service launches for first-party titles. “Much prefer Sony's 'lifecycle management' strategy,” he said.

Back in 2023, leaked memos gave players an idea of how much publishers are offered to have their titles put on Game Pass. In a report by The Gamer,  Xbox was willing to offer Larian just $5 million to get Baldur's Gate 3 on the service, compared to $250 million for Mortal Kombat 1, and $300 million for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Baldur’s Gate 3 has yet to appear on Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus. 

Microsoft remains quiet on Xbox Game Pass profitability

Despite being one of the most prominent subscription services in gaming, Microsoft does not disclose detailed financial data on Game Pass. In its latest earnings report, the company noted an 8% year-over-year growth in Xbox content and services and a 45% increase in PC Game Pass revenue. However, subscriber numbers and total income from Game Pass were not revealed.