Overview
- Mike Brown, speaking on the MinnMax podcast this week, said Game Pass was a good idea that did not attract enough subscribers at the prices Microsoft needed and called the outcome “really, really unfortunate.”
- Microsoft has begun a strategic reset under CEO Asha Sharma that has rolled back a recent price hike, removed Call of Duty from day‑one Game Pass promises, and driven widespread studio cuts and layoffs totaling roughly 3,600 jobs in reporting.
- Brown warned that the commercial shortfall will lead to studios being shut down or spun off and that many developers will lose their livelihoods as Microsoft refocuses on major franchises.
- He defended former Xbox leaders Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond, praising their competence and arguing that social media criticism of them is unfair.
- Game Pass’s problems trace to a push to build a subscription service through heavy studio acquisitions and the $70 billion Activision Blizzard buy, a strategy that required far more paid subscribers than it achieved and led to a price rise last fall that then hurt subscriber numbers.