Progressive game publishing company, Thunderful Games, recently expressed strong support for Xbox's Games Pass model. Despite ongoing debates about the model's sustainability, Thunderful Games has reaffirmed its endorsement, emphasizing the significant benefits it offers to both bigger and smaller developers alike.
In an interview with Windows Central, Thunderful's Chief Games Officer, Agostino Simonetta, discussed how this relatively new model positively affects developers by making their titles more accessible to the general public. This translates into a considerable business advantage for gaming companies.
Simonetta pointed to their recently launched game, The Gunk, as an exemplar of this model's success. Much to the team's delight, The Gunk gained hundreds of thousands of players immediately after its release. As Simonetta noted, "Some indies have been able to deliver their vision, and launch their product as a result of support from Game Pass... Any business model that enables a company like Thunderful, or bigger or smaller, to have a great business is more than welcome."
Reflecting on the recent Activision Blizzard King acquisition, Simonetta posited that Xbox is now better positioned than ever before to reach billions of players worldwide. Furthermore, he predicted that developers of all sizes will maintain their robust relationship with Xbox, including Thunderful.
The developer himself assured that this acquisition doesn't signify the end for indie publishers working in collaboration with Xbox. Regarding Xbox's commitment to independent games and development teams, Simonetta openly expressed his confidence. In his words, "Independent games are part of the fabric of the games industry, gamers love them, and are a huge source of innovation that no platform can ignore."
In the past, Simonetta has spoken about how instrumental both Xbox and its Games Pass were in bringing The Gunk to market. As recently as yesterday, Thunderful Games announced its partnership with PowerWash developers FuturLab on a new project, Ikaro: Will Not Die, during the Xbox Partner Preview showcase.
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For fans eager to learn more about Thunderful's upcoming Xbox Series X|S releases and its continued collaboration with Xbox, stay tuned to major gaming news outlets for the latest information. As always, tell us what you think below about this shared vision and the impact of the Games Pass model.
The reverberating support for the model from this key player in the industry serves as an affirmative signal, bolstering the spirits of both developers big and small. With platforms like Xbox's Games Pass offering a unique opportunity for a wider gamut of their creations to be enjoyed by the masses, the future of gaming — from indie to mainstream — seems increasingly collaborative and vastly promising.
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