Forza Horizon 5 Director Shares Thoughts on Xbox Challenges: “Game Pass Had Potential, But It Missed the Mark”

Mike Brown spent nine years at Playground Games working on Forza before launching his own studio, Maverick Games, in 2022 to develop an open-world driving game called Clutch. Having previously held the role of creative director on Forza Horizon 5 at one of Microsoft’s game studios, Brown recently shared his thoughts on the current changes at Xbox, which include a new leadership team under CEO Asha Sharma and significant layoffs affecting 3,600 employees.

“From my perspective, looking in from the outside, it’s really sad and unfortunate,” Brown remarked during a recent episode of a podcast. “They’ve invested heavily in the Game Pass concept, which led to numerous studio acquisitions, game funding, and job creation, all aimed at delivering a steady stream of games for players.”

He elaborated:

“The reality is that not enough people have subscribed at the necessary price points to sustain that business model. It’s disheartening because we’re now witnessing studios being closed or restructured, and many people will lose their jobs. This outcome stems from a well-intentioned, player-focused idea behind Xbox Game Pass that just didn’t pan out. While it’s easy to point fingers and label individuals within Xbox as the villains, the Game Pass concept itself was solid. It aimed to provide an affordable subscription, broaden access to games, and include a diverse range of titles. The goal was to involve many studios and create games that might not have been possible otherwise. If more people had subscribed, it could have generated enough revenue to support those studios and continue producing games. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”

The recent strategic shift at Xbox follows a decline in Game Pass subscribers last fall, triggered by a significant price increase to accommodate the addition of Call of Duty on launch day. Sharma has since reduced the price and removed the blockbuster shooter from the day-one commitment, leading to cuts across studios and developers as the company refocuses on its flagship franchises like Halo, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Minecraft.

This marks a significant departure from nearly a decade of efforts to grow Game Pass, which once aimed for over 100 million subscribers. However, Brown defended individuals like Sarah Bond, the former president of Xbox, who was previously seen as a potential successor to Phil Spencer before Sharma took the helm.

“Those criticizing Sarah on social media don’t know her,” Brown stated. “They’re unaware of her daily contributions and how she operates within the business. She’s still part of the team as an adviser to Asha. I genuinely liked Sarah Bond; she was always sharp, intelligent, and impressive. When she spoke, you could relax a bit because her competence was reassuring.”