We’ve been watching Xbox Game Pass insanely closely since it was first announced. In fact, we called it the best value in gaming last week. However, when Microsoft first announced that Sea of Thieves would be included in Xbox Game Pass, it was hard to predict how this would affect online sales of the game. That title eventually rose to the top slot on the Xbox’s Store’s Paid Games. The same happened for State of Decay 2. These were both new releases, so it wasn’t particularly surprising to see them purchased at a high rate. They were two of the more hyped exclusive titles the Xbox One has had this year.
Good call out, same happened for @SeaOfThieves and @StateOfDecay 2 as both jumped to #1 when they went into #XboxGamePass with sales exceeding expectations. #BestValueInGaming https://t.co/n7Qd84ARuQ
— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) July 16, 2018
We will admit being a tad shocked seeing Rocket League currently as the top purchased game on Xbox Live shortly after being added to Xbox Game Pass. All the evidence from how games added to Game Pass have performed on sales charts seems to indicate that the program isn’t cannibalizing sales as much as many expected if at all. Rocket League is a particularly interesting game, as it’s been out forever and at this point seems like it should have been somewhat ubiquitous in the gaming landscape. Whether it was the marketing push the game received alongside its inclusion in Game Pass, the ability to try the game and then purchase at a discount or some other force entirely, such as the continued support the developers have shown this game, the game is selling incredibly well. And that is good news for the developers.