Would You Leave Xbox Game Pass If Microsoft Removed Its Exclusives?

One Xbox talking point that's gained a lot of attention recently has been the rumour that Hi-Fi RUSH hadn't sold as much as expected, even though the game reviewed extremely well and seemed to create a lot of buzz at launch in January.

Since then, Xbox exec Aaron Greenberg has chimed in on the rumour and its surrounding discussion, stating that Microsoft "couldn’t be happier" with how Hi-Fi RUSH landed as a shadow drop, suggesting the team was perfectly content with how it performed.

It probably goes without saying that a subscription service like Game Pass will take away some of your game sales, that's a no-brainer, but all indications from Xbox point towards the company being happy with the service, which includes day one launches like Hi-Fi RUSH.

However, the whole discussion point has got us thinking about a hypothetical future where Microsoft considers removing its first-party exclusives from the service, at least in a 'day one' capacity. This is very much a hypothetical thing and is by no means happening given Xbox's current strategy... we just thought it was an interesting question to ask!

So, in the extremely unlikely event that Microsoft did consider removing its day one first-party releases from Xbox Game Pass, would the service still be of value to you? Basically, if Xbox started charging for its first party exclusives again, would you stay subscribed to Game Pass?

Would You Leave Xbox Game Pass If Microsoft Removed Its Exclusives? 1

The library is becoming home to loads of third-party games and indie releases, including a bunch of day one options, so there's clearly still value to Game Pass without first party. Having said that, Xbox's own studios' games are a massive pull for the service and to be honest, we can't imagine Game Pass continuing to exist without those games!

Of course, Microsoft could go the Sony route of bringing its own games to the library later down the line, but still, that'd be a massive shift from where Xbox has been going and it would certainly cause a huge stir within the community.

So, we'll repeat once again that this is all hypothetical and we're just spitballing here based on what happened last week, but, would the service still be worth it? Would you leave Xbox Game Pass if Microsoft removed its day one exclusives?

Vote in the poll down below and tell us why this would be a silly idea in the comments section!

Would You Keep Game Pass Without Day One Xbox Exclusives? (2,260 votes)

  1. Definitely, it's an amazing service just for indies and third-party games!15%
  2. I might stay subscribed, but Xbox would have to add more third-party games29%
  3. It would take some effort from Xbox to keep me on Game Pass!29%
  4. No way, Xbox exclusives are the main reason I subscribe to Game Pass!28%