Forza Horizon 5 Breaks Xbox Records

@harharbinks: Can play on pc or tablet in the meantime? Or isn't it a cross purchase game?

@dmblum1799: There’s much more than just driving. I am not a huge fan of driving games myself but this arcade type of playstyle can be major fun.

@Vodoo: I don't know of course since I'm not involved in this particularly, but my guess based on other busniess deals and company thinking I've had irl through work my guess is 3rd party gets a guaranteed fixed compensation from microsoft and then either another fixed sum or a small % based on milestones f ex the number of players playing their specific game on the service, probably with some clause that it has to be for atleast a set period of time etc. Or they can get compensation in other ways such as lower cost for them to publish all/some/specific title of their games on a say xbox or another perk like that.

So 3rd party has to make an educated guess if they will earn more or less than not allowing it on the service. They will earn less money on each player that would otherwise buy the game at full price regardless if it's not on the service, but they will get money they would otherwise not get from the people who didn't even have the game in their sights and just tried it out because it would be at no extra cost for them since they already have the service.

This might also open those gamers eyes to that companies other titles or maybe create a new fan of the franchise for future titles etc. That is also the way it works with having a game on many platforms and Microsofts own thinking when expanding their games beyond xbox. I as a pc gamer would never ever buy a complete and limited ecosystem like xbox that for me is all and all infierior to what I already have, and does not add anything but access to very few titles not available on pc. But now that their games are available to me I'm more than happy to shelf out some cash on games that I find interesting including any potential dlc etc on those games that I otherwise would not spend any cash on at all. So they have added revenue by adding new customers such as me, willing to buy the games, not willing enough to buy their hardware for those games though.

So the educated guess is basically will they get more profit overall by the end of the day by potentially cutting costs, adding other business beneficial perks for them and adding more customers and selling additional content/games to more customers than they loose by earning less from the customers that they already have hooked and that would buy the game at full price anyway.

The more people on the service, the lower the risk of loosing money and easier for more 3rd party to allow their games on there. Just like the more options customers have for access to a game the more potential purchases a game has.

Some companies wait and let the hooked customers pay full price and once the initial purchase rush has dwindled they put it on there to try and "double dip" and hook new customers. Or like Sony, they let the few that would buy a PS5 for a game get one, and they get the cash from their top titles, and then 1-2 years later when the sells slow down they release them on pc and it gets another big bump from those not willing to buy the PS5 for the game.
I know the last bit has nothing to do with gamepass but the thinking is the same.

@Vodoo: Oh they make money and we are just looking in from the outside and do not know the nuts are bolts and I am thinking it is the income split such as and this is only an example 20/80. Ethier way it goes those developers need something to play on and it will cost one something as nothing is free. If they push a whole lot it does not matter what the split is with some exceptions.

@unnamable1122: Yeah, same here as I am not into racing but it does not mean I dislike it and I do buy some of them.

I'm also the same as you, not really all that interested in racing games. With FH4, I lost interest after a month or two, but FH5 is so polished and the visuals so amazing that I wouldn't be surprised if I play it on more occasions. Great job to all the developers. You know they're super talented, when they can make a fan out of someone whos not even into the genre in the first place.

@s1taz4a3l: Maybe you can check out the most popular tunes (also paints) from the community for your car/s.
They are for free (aside from the upgrade parts you need) and if you happen to like a tune,keep following the creator...he/she might have other tunes for more cars.

yes, its a racing game like anything else with tournaments and missions and all these records you have to break etc. Its a bit different from NFS because that focuses more on street racing. The real reason for all the hype is that the game looks so stunning, and beautiful that it stands above everything else. A few times, I couldn't tell if the picture from a real life scene, thats how amazing the visuals are. On top of that, its clear that playground games put a TON of effort into making the mechanics of each car as accurate as possible. I can easily tell the minor differences in each car, just by driving them and im not even a racing fan in the first place.