Mike Brown, founder of Maverick Games, a studio currently working on the racing game Clutch, was previously a director on the Forza Horizon franchise. He is notably responsible for the fifth installment in the series.

Having worked for Microsoft for several years, Brown was naturally asked about Game Pass during an interview on the YouTube channel MinnMax. He described the service’s apparent failure as “regrettable,” noting that it will lead to studio closures.

"I think it’s really sad and I think it’s really, really unfortunate. They’ve honestly invested a fortune in the concept of Game Pass as a service, which led to loads of teams being acquired, loads of games being funded, loads of people getting jobs, all with a vision of getting regular games landing in this service for players.

I think the reality is not enough people have subscribed to it at the prices that they needed to pay in order to make that business viable. And, that’s actually just really sad. Because we’re now going to see studios getting shut down or spun off, and loads of people are going to lose their jobs.

And that is honestly just a result of a well-meaning, player-focused concept of Xbox Game Pass not quite landing."