Microsoft has made Game Pass central to its gaming strategy, and there are many reasons for that- the sustained revenue it provides through its millions of subscribers across multiple devices is, of course, the big reason, but Game Pass has other benefits as well. Like allowing developers to work on more experimental games than they would have if they were working on titles that would launch as regular, paid releases.
One such game is Obsidian Entertainment’s recently-released historical narrative adventure game Pentiment, which has been on the receiving end of widespread plaudits since its launch. Interestingly enough, speaking recently with Waypoint Radio (via ResetEra), Pentiment’s director Josh Sawyer said that owing to the game’s incredibly niche and experimental nature, he essentially wouldn’t have even considered making Pentiment if it wasn’t being made with Game Pass in mind.
“I never would have proposed making Pentiment without Game Pass,” Sawyer said. “Like, I literally just wouldn’t have done it. I just don’t think it would have been possible.
“The old mentality of publishers and developers is generally focused on larger investments with higher returns, and that’s not the point in this environment, in this ecosystem. [Game Pass] is the only way in which I conceive of [Pentiment] being viable.”
He added: “For my own sake, making a game so different, I’ve completely shifted my thinking for [Pentiment]. It is so unusual, so niche, it’s for a small audience, and as long as that audience is into it, that’s fine.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time that a developer has spoken about the benefits of being able to work on what would seem like riskier projects thanks to Game Pass. Given how well Pentiment has been received though, it does serve as an excellent project of great games that perhaps would never even have been made if not for Microsoft’s subscription service.
Pentiment is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
