According to journalist Jason Shreier, senior figures at some of Xbox's first-party studios reportedly resent the Game Pass subscription service, believing it undermines the perceived value of their games. The concern is that when big-budget titles launch on Game Pass from day one, players opt to play them through the subscription rather than buying them outright, which depresses sales and makes it harder to gauge a game's true commercial success. This matters because it points to internal tension within Microsoft's gaming division over the long-term strategy behind its flagship subscription offering.

Shreier suggested Xbox is unlikely to scrap Game Pass altogether but may increasingly pull back from putting new releases on the service on their launch day. He cited examples such as The Outer Worlds 2 and South of Midnight, games that drew relatively modest sales figures on platforms like Steam despite being well-received, with many players seemingly choosing to experience them via Game Pass instead of purchasing them for $40-$70. Studio leadership reportedly views this as detrimental not just to their own titles but to the games industry's sense of value more broadly.