But Microsoft is also banking on the game to help push subscriptions of its Game Pass service. But the company’s recent game “Redfall” has been so poorly reviewed that Xbox CEO Phil Spencer apologized for its quality during an interview with Kinda Funny.Ĭonsole makers like Microsoft, Sony ( SONY), and Nintendo ( NTDOY) traditionally use first-party titles like “Starfield” to drive hardware adoption. Games like “Hi-Fi Rush” have been generally well received by critics and players alike. So far, Microsoft’s Zenimax acquisition has had its ups and downs.

“I think you can put “Starfield’ in that context of how do we have a AAA release coming out day and date Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate so that more people sign up, it’s driving a lot of hours of use.” ‘Starfield’ is part of Microsoft’s push for the cloud “Their goal is to get everyone possible into Game Pass Ultimate at $15 a month,” explained IDC analyst Lewis Ward. “It's sitting in the middle of the strategy of not only converting users into Game Pass.but now driving user growth forward to sort of raise the profile of the Xbox platform.” “Frankly, ‘Starfield’ means a lot,” explained Neil Barbour, research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Starfield” serves as a litmus test for Microsoft’s ability to put out original, or first-party, content that drives subscriptions for its Game Pass gaming service. It's also the first major release from the developer since Microsoft purchased its parent company Zenimax for $7.5 billion in 2021.

If you don’t know the company’s name, it’s the firm behind the incredible “The Elder Scrolls” and “Fallout” series of games. It’s the first new franchise from developer Bethesda in more than 25 years. One of the most anticipated games of 2023, and easily the most important title for Microsoft in years, “Starfield” is an action role-playing game in which you travel across more than 1,000 planets, battle rival space factions, and try to unravel the mystery of a series of strange alien-like objects.

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