Everspace 2 developer and Rockfish Games CEO Michael Schade talks Xbox Game Pass
"Even the Playstation fans are getting a better game on PS5 because of the deal with Game Pass." says Schade.
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In an interview with podcast Xbox Expansion Pass Michael Schade, the CEO of Rockfish Games spoke candidly about how the deal with Xbox for Game Pass inclusion gave them both the freedom to remain independent and the funding necessary to make Everspace 2 a better game overall. According to Schade, funding from the Game Pass deal for Everspace 2 combined with revenue from sales of Everspace and Early Access revenue for Everspace 2 allowed Rockfish Games to take an extra 9-12 months to continue building additional content and polishing the space themed action RPG.
“It's maximum flexibility, extra funding, and you just make a better game. Everybody's happy. Even everybody who is not on Game Pass is getting a better game. Even the Playstation fans get a better game on PS5 because of the deal with Game Pass.”
Mike Rose of No More Robots (Descenders, Let's Build a Zoo) frequently sings the praises of Game Pass for developers. "All I can say is, we're aiming to get every single title we publish from now on, onto Game Pass. In doing so, we'll secure success for each title, and relieve immense pressure for the devs" Rose tweeted earlier this year.
In a 2021 interview with IGN Unfiltered, Sean Krankel of Night School Studio (Oxenfree, Afterparty) stated he was originally concerned about cannibalized sales when it came to launching Afterparty into Xbox Game Pass, but that his fears were quickly squashed, "...What we found out was not only did it not [cannibalize sales], it increased our sales everywhere else on every platform." In the time since this interview, however, Night School Studio was acquired by Netflix, and their follow-up title Oxenfree 2 not only skipped Xbox Game Pass but the entire Xbox platform completely.
