There have been a number of concerns around game subscription services, like Xbox Game Pass, not the least of them sustainability, but it seems as though those concerns have been misplaced. According to Xbox president, Sara Bond, in a recent interview with Game Watch at the Tokyo Game Show, Xbox Game Pass is profitable. A translation of a quote from the interview reads: "It's a profitable business, and more creators are participating in Xbox Game Pass," with Bond going on to say that the payments to creators—presumably developers—are increasing, suggesting that it is profitable for developers as well. She also mentions that the previous fiscal year saw Xbox Game Pass hit a record high sales figure of $5 billion.

These statements come not too long after concerns voiced by Shuhei Yoshida, former Sony Gaming head, who said that these subscription services could become risky for developers. The reasoning was that these services could have a stifling impact on innovation in gaming if gamers became too used to being able to play the latest AAA titles at launch for a low monthly price instead of taking risks and buying games outright. Bond, on the other hand, argues that Game Pass is one of the tools Microsoft and Xbox are leaning into, alongside both Xbox Cloud Game Streaming and the recent launch of the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, in order to maintain a flexibility.

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