Bethesda Softworks’ former senior vice president of global marketing and communications, Pete Hines, claims that gaming subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass are “worth jack s***” if the developers creating their content do not receive adequate support.
The ex-Bethesda executive, who announced his retirement in 2023 after a 24-year tenure at the company, discussed the current state of the gaming industry during a recent interview with DBLTAP. Alongside reminiscing about the early days of the studio behind Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, Hines shared his perspective on the future of services like Game Pass.
He acknowledges that since retiring from Microsoft-owned Bethesda, his insights might not be entirely current. However, Hines notes he witnessed what he “considered to be some short-sighted decision-making several years ago” which now seems to be “playing out exactly as I predicted.”
“Subscriptions have become the new four-letter word, right? You can't buy a product anymore,” Hines explained. “When you discuss a subscription that relies on content, if you don’t figure out how to balance the needs of the service and its operators with those providing the content – without which your subscription is worth jack s*** – then you have a significant problem.”
This tension is negatively impacting many individuals, including the creators themselves, as they navigate an ecosystem that fails to properly value and reward their work. “That tension is hurting a lot of people,” he noted.
Gamers have debated the sustainability of platforms like Game Pass since its 2017 launch. While a library flooded with hundreds of games for subscribers seems like a dream come true, it has remained unclear how well developers behind these titles are supported financially and creatively.
As Game Pass expanded rapidly in the early 2020s and PlayStation eventually launched its own PlayStation Plus-centered competitor, more uncertainties emerged. Former PlayStation president Shawn Layden is among several industry figures who have recently criticized the subscription model, describing the “’Netflix of gaming’ concept” as a “danger” that raises questions about developer health: “…is it healthy for the developer?”
Microsoft highlighted in July that Game Pass generated $5 billion in revenue over the previous year, following layoffs affecting hundreds of employees across its gaming division earlier that same month. Hines adds that the pressure from ongoing subscription services is impacting the very developers essential to their existence, creating a reliance he feels is “hurting a lot of people.”
“You need to properly acknowledge, compensate, and recognize what it takes to create that content—not just make a game, but build a product,” he elaborated. “That tension is hurting a lot of people, including the content creators themselves, because they're fitting into an ecosystem that is not properly valuing and rewarding what they're making.”
AnswerSee ResultsTwo Bethesda studios – Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks – were shut down in May 2024, though the latter was eventually saved after PUBG publisher Krafton acquired it from Xbox. Amidst mass layoffs and studio closures, original Arkane founder Raphael Colantonio called Game Pass the “elephant in the room” and an “unsustainable model.” He added, “I don’t think GP can co-exist with other models; they’ll either kill everyone else or give up.”
