Xbox Game Pass: How much does Microsoft pay to bring games to the service?

A leak gives us an idea of the expenses for day-one releases

Xbox Game Pass: How much does Microsoft pay to bring games to the service?

A leak gives us an idea of the expenses for day-one releases

Xbox Game Pass is a fantastic service that provides access to a plethora of games for Xbox in exchange for a monthly fee. Maintaining such a vast service can't be cheap, right? Well, there's now information that gives us an idea of how much Microsoft pays to bring games to its service.

Recently, several private documents from Microsoft were leaked as part of the legal battle between the company and the FTC over the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. One of these documents revealed a list of games that Microsoft was considering bringing to Xbox Game Pass.

For example, the document includes big-budget titles like Red Dead Redemption II, Mortal Kombat 1, and Assassin's Creed: Mirage. It also features lower-profile games such as Just Dance, Wreckfest 2, and Baldur's Gate 3.

Here are the amounts listed in the leaked document:

  • LEGO Star Wars - $35 million
  • Dying Light 2 - $50 million
  • Red Dead Redemption 2 - $5 million per month
  • Dragon Ball: The Breakers - $20 million
  • Just Dance - $5 million
  • Let's Sing Abba - $5 million
  • Return to Monkey Island - $5 million
  • Wreckfest 2 - between $10 million and $14 million
  • Baldur's Gate 3 - $5 million
  • Gotham Knights - $50 million
  • Assassin's Creed Mirage - $100 million
  • Suicide Squad - $250 million
  • Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - $300 million
  • Mortal Kombat 1 - $250 million
  • Grand Theft Auto V - between $12 million and $15 million

Related video: Xbox Game Pass: 6 years of evolution

Is this the amount that Xbox paid for these games on Game Pass?

It's important to note that the list does not specify whether the amounts listed are the prices Microsoft had to pay to bring some of these games to Xbox Game Pass. Therefore, it should be considered merely as an estimate calculated by Microsoft or the price that some companies specified.

Xbox Game Pass offers a ton of games
Xbox Game Pass offers a ton of games

While the prices should not be taken as definitive, they do give us an idea of how much these multimillion-dollar deals cost. It also helps us realize that having AAA games on Xbox Game Pass doesn't come cheap for Microsoft.

What are your thoughts on this information? Did you ever think it could cost so much to bring a game to Xbox Game Pass? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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