Former Bethesda publishing boss Pete Hines threw shade at subscription services like Xbox Game Pass, saying that their business model is creating harmful pressures on both game developers and publishers. His comments echo some wider concerns that the industry has previously voiced about subscription-based distribution, particularly the ultra-aggressive content approach that Microsoft employs with Xbox Game Pass.
Hines originally joined Bethesda as the head of publishing in 1999, before the company started making the 3D sandbox RPGs it's nowadays best known for. Over the years, he also served as the group's senior vice president of global marketing and communications. Alongside Todd Howard, the industry veteran was the face of the company for the better part of the first quarter of the 21st century. Hines announced he was leaving Bethesda and retiring in November 2023, two and a half years after Microsoft acquired Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax. The acquisition gave Hines a front-row seat to the company’s transition into Microsoft ownership.
Revenge of the Savage Planet Studio Head Claims Game Pass Devalues Content
A Revenge of the Savage Planet discusses the impact of the game launching on Xbox Game Pass and how the service results in devalued content.
Pete Hines Criticizes 'Short-Sighted' Decisions on Subscription Services
The industry veteran has now spoken out against some "short-sighted decision-making" that he witnessed at that time in a recent interview with DBLTAP, where he voiced concerns about subscription services and their ongoing impact on the industry. "If you don't figure out how to balance the needs of the service and the people running the service with the people who are providing the content–without which your subscription is worth jack s**t–then you have a real problem," Hines said. The former Bethesda executive continued by positing that a platform like Xbox Game Pass needs to properly compensate developers, recognizing what it takes to create the content that it depends on and acknowledging who's doing the creating.
Subscription Services Aren't 'Properly Valuing and Rewarding' Game Devs, Hines Says
Without striking a proper balance between their own financial goals and fairly compensating creators, subscription services hold little value, Hines said. The retired exec added that many creators feel squeezed by the current business model because this balance has not been found yet, resulting in them being part of an ecosystem that isn't "properly valuing and rewarding what they're making." Hines did not mention any platform by name in his remarks. His concerns mirror those of Shawn Layden, a former PlayStation executive who recently said developers working on titles for subscription services are getting "slave wages" for their efforts.
Xbox Game Pass is widely believed to be a profitable service for Microsoft. The company’s recent investments in acquiring game studios are, at least in part, driven by a desire to expand its portfolio of first-party developers, whose titles can be included in its subscription content catalog on day one without incurring additional licensing costs.
If you don't figure out how to balance the needs of the service and the people running the service with the people who are providing the content–without which your subscription is worth jack s**t–then you have a real problem.
As things currently stand, Sony appears to be more cautious than Microsoft in its pursuit of subscription revenue. The Japanese company has so far resisted the idea of bringing its first-party titles to PlayStation Plus on day one, having repeatedly signaled that it considers this option off the table.
