Ori creator slams Xbox Game Pass as 'mediocre slop factory'

Xbox has drawn fresh criticism after teasing layoffs as part of a "reset" and reportedly closing Double Fine, Ninja Theory and other studios, just days after unveiling new games at its Xbox Games Showcase. Moon Studios CEO and Ori creator Thomas Mahler took to X to harshly criticise Xbox Game Pass.

Mahler said 'The Game Pass strategy could've worked if people would've shown up for it,' arguing the service's catalogue was not strong enough to keep subscribers paying month to month. He added that Xbox needed games that become 'smash hits, cultural events' and argued 'that game doesn't exist,' calling out recent first‑party output as 'floundering' and singling out Starfield as an example of unmet expectations.

He went on to describe Game Pass as 'a little like Communism,' saying the system collapses without incentives for people to join. When Xbox raised Game Pass prices last year it lost 'millions' of subscribers, Matthew Ball said; Ball is a games industry analyst and newly‑installed Xbox chief strategy officer.

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