Jim Ryan, President Sony Interactive Entertainment has expressed that it is not worried about the growth of Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription video game service. The video game subscription model has grown a lot in recent years, and some companies are aiming to make it the new industry standard, although it remains to be seen if that goal can be achieved.

In recent years, we’ve seen several twists and turns in the video game industry’s business model that haven’t always been well received by users. Now it’s down to subscription services that have left the community somewhat divided players. This new model seems to have found its link in Xbox Game Pass.

Just because Jim Ryan said he’s not worried about Xbox Game Pass doesn’t mean Sony is ignoring the issue, as the Japanese giant’s video game division has made various changes to PlayStation Plus to better emulate its competitor’s model of adding value through access to many video games with monthly, quarterly and annual rates.

The reason for the Sony executive’s position is based on some of his statements in an internal memo that Insder Gaming had access to, in which he stated the following: “When we consider Game Pass, [el número de suscriptores] appears to be decreasing. We’ve sold more PS5s than we have subscribers in two years, and they’ve been doing it for 6 or 7 years“.

Statement by Jim Ryan They contradict the arguments presented by Sony before the CMA against Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard: “Game Pass is significantly ahead of PlayStation Plus. Microsoft already has a significant lead in multi-game subscription services. Combined with the Xbox Game Pass Console and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass has 29 million subscribers and is expected to grow substantially in the future. PlayStation Plus multi-game subscription tiers are significantly delayed, with less than [ELIMINADO] number of subscribers.

Is Xbox Game Pass a threat to PlayStation or not? Here we enter a scenario with many different interpretations and readings, as Sony could use the alleged dominance (without abuse) of Xbox Game Pass as a ploy to torpedo Microsoft’s acquisition of Activison-Blizzard. And so it is that, although video games via streaming continue to grow, the sector does not seem to be the revolutionary and destructive explosion that some predicted.

On the other hand, Jim Ryan’s words could be an attempt to reassure other directors, shareholders and investors and the fact that the reality may be different: the fact that market conditions are starting to make it difficult for Sony going forward.