It appears Microsoft is set to cut its profit share for games sold on the Xbox Store to a fraction of what they currently are, and that new number will put it in line with the Epic Games Store.
Currently set to a 30% revenue split on game sales, the Xbox Store will change to give Microsoft just 12% of the profits from digital game sales, according to court documents obtained by The Verge that also touch on a potentially very limited exclusivity period for STALKER 2.
The new figure was brought up in the ongoing trial between Epic Games and Apple, likely because this new split would be exactly the same as what Epic Games takes on its own platform.
This split is significantly more favorable for developers than what competitors like Steam offer, and it aimed to draw companies away from the more-established stores. Because overall profits would be higher for developers and publishers as a result, this also meant some games were sold for less money on the Epic Games Store than Steam.
The documents say the Xbox Store change will happen at some point this year, but it's not clear if a provision requiring exclusive streaming rights for PC games will take effect. PC games using the split would need to be on xCloud, should that still stand.
Not everyone is so sure such a generous profit split will be implemented, however. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella is skeptical, tweeting that the increased audience size such a move would encourage would need to be "massive" for it to work.
If real, the math behind this decision would be most interesting. That cut is massive, and the increase in audience size and revs that would be needed to make this decision profitable even massive-er.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) May 2, 2021
So I lean towards this not being real, because that math hurts the brain.
Microsoft has more money than Scrooge McDuck, however, so it's very possible the company is willing to take a hit for years in order to strengthen the Xbox brand further. Its profits in just three months were high enough to pay for its $7.5 billion ZeniMax purchase twice.
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