Thomas Mahler, director of Ori And The Blind Forest and its 2020 sequel, has criticised “slop” titles released on Xbox Game Pass following reports that various studios will be shut down.
Earlier this month, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma shared an open letter about “resetting” the business after Microsoft spent “over $20 billion on ongoing investments in content, platform, and hardware subsidy” over the past five years while their annual revenue has “declined nearly half a billion” during that same time. “Going forward, this cannot continue,” she said.
Since then, it’s been reported that several Microsoft-owned studios are set to be shut down in a bid to improve Xbox’s finances, which has sparked a debate across social media.
One analyst said the closures were simply down to some games not making enough profit against ballooning development costs, while 3D Realms founder George Broussard argued that Xbox management is to blame. “Maybe they overbought studios looking to feed Game Pass? Maybe they gave studios too much rope. But who pays the price in the end? The studios and their developers.”
I mean, the Gamepass strategy could've worked if people would've shown up for it. Problem is: They didn't and the software catalogue was just nowhere near good enough to make people happily pay the subscription every month.
It's the same as with streaming in the film business:…
— thomasmahler (@thomasmahler) June 18, 2026
“I mean, the Game Pass strategy could’ve worked if people would’ve shown up for it. Problem is: They didn’t and the software catalogue was just nowhere near good enough to make people happily pay the subscription every month,” replied Mahler, who claimed he happily pays for a HBO subscription because of its “amazing content” but Microsoft hasn’t been able to create “smash hits, cultural events that everyone wants to play,” for Xbox Game Pass.
“[The Xbox team] need to understand what’s a good game and what’s a mediocre game. And they’d need to have good deals with devs, so developers are actively incentivised to produce massive hits, not just slop out mediocre content like a factory,” he added. “If you don’t give people a strong incentive to roll up their sleeves and go the extra mile, they won’t. And if you then don’t get the quality you need, it all comes crashing down.”
“Ori could’ve been the start of something new, but the powers to be were probably too focused on the past for that to happen,” he added.
According to Sharma, Xbox Game Pass saw eight months of “decline” following a massive price hike at the end of 2025 but since she cut the price of a subscription, memberships have started to increase once more.
In other news, Forza Horizon 6’s fan-favourite drum ‘n’ bass Hospital Records soundtrack is getting a vinyl release.