Following Microsoft’s latest round of layoffs, Arkane Studios founder Raphaël Colantonio has slammed Xbox Game Pass, dubbing it “an unsustainable model that has been increasingly damaging the industry for a decade”.
Arkane Studios founder Raphaël Colantonio has strongly criticised Xbox Game Pass, calling it “an unsustainable model that has been increasingly damaging the industry for a decade”.
The developer – who headed up Arkane and the studio’s games like Prey in and Dishonored before his exit in 2017 – lashed out at Microsoft’s subscription service after the company announced its latest round of layoffs.
Reflecting on Microsoft’s redundancy announcement, he wrote on social media: “I think Gamepass is an unsustainable model that has been increasingly damaging the industry for a decade, subsidized by MS’s ‘infinite money,’ but at some point reality has to hit.
“I don’t think GP can co-exist with other models, they’ll either kill everyone else, or give up.”
Colantonio further argued Game Pass is attempting to “throw a tsunami at the entire ecosystem of the industry”, a situation he believes benefits gamers in the short term, but risks long‑term harm.
Former Baldur’s Gate III publishing director Michael Douse echoed his concerns, warning: “What happens when all that money runs out?”
This comes amid Microsoft’s recent cuts, including studio closures, layoffs and project cancellations under Xbox Game Studios.
It is estimated this round of layoffs has affected around 9,000 employees, with the likes of The Initiative, Turn 10 and Raven Software all being hit hard by the redundancies.
Arkane Austin had been shuttered by Xbox in May 2024 alongside Roundhouse Games, Alpha Dog Games and Hi-Fi Rush’s Tango Gameworks – though the latter was subsequently acquired by PUBG: Battlegrounds publisher Krafton.
Xbox Game Pass is an ‘unsustainable model’ that has damaged the industry, ex-Arkane boss says
