The hype train has returned for Everspace 2 ahead of its release on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PS5 in just over a month's time, and Xbox Game Pass has evidently played a big role in its success on PC so far.
Speaking to the Xbox Expansion Podcast earlier this week, Rockfish Games CEO Michael Schade explained that the Game Pass deal (which initially saw Everspace 2 arrive on PC) ultimately allowed for more development time:
"We could have [made Everspace 2 without Xbox Game Pass], but it would have been a smaller game. Some part of the funds — the license fee - is when you launch on PC Game Pass in the Game Preview program, which is something we did. And then you get a significant chunk of the license, and that enabled us to work nine more months on the game..."
"Combined with the other revenue sources we had, plus the Game Pass deal, [it] enabled us to add nine to twelve months of more production time."
Schade then went on to explain that the release of Everspace 2 on PC Game Pass "didn't hurt sales" on the Steam platform, and he even lavished praise on Game Pass as being "one of the best, if not the best deals in the industry".
And in terms of the console launch next month, the CEO believes that Xbox Game Pass's influence will result in a "better" game for everyone, incluing those who end up buying it on PlayStation 5:
"So, yeah - it's maximum flexibility, extra funding, and you just make a better game. And everybody's happy! Even everybody who's not on Game Pass is getting a better game. So, even the PlayStation fans get a better game on PS5 because of the deal with Game Pass."
As mentioned, Everspace 2 is available to play right now on PC Game Pass, and it'll be coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S as part of Xbox Game Pass on August 15th, 2023.