Starfield's reportedly earned over 200 million from Premium Edition sales, debunking "Xbox Game Pass hurts sales" propaganda

Starfield is arguably Xbox Game Pass's biggest attraction right now and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. It's not every day that Bethesda releases an RPG of such scale, and to have such a title available for a lowly monthly fee is a true bargain. However, what has surprised many are the sales numbers of the Premium Edition, and if reports are to be believed, Bethesda has already made over 200 million in revenue.

These estimated numbers, reported by multiple sources, have two important implications. Firstly, the numbers are amazing for Bethesda, Xbox, and their combined gaming ambitions. Secondly, it's often said that releasing video games on the Xbox Game Pass on day one harms their potential sales. Considering Starfield's sales numbers, this statement couldn't be further from the truth.

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Starfield's Premium Edition has sold like hot cakes

It took a short time to understand how well Starfield's Premium Edition had sold, given that about 230,000 concurrent players were playing on Steam on September 2. This number doesn't even include anyone who might have bought the game from the Xbox store or on their consoles.

The Premium Edition has two notable bonuses compared to the Standard one — a post-launch 2024 expansion and five days of early access. Suffice to say, it's the additional playability of up to 120 hours that attracted many players. This is even though an Xbox Game Pass subscription costs a fraction of Premium Edition's price, and all a player had to do was wait for the first five days in September.

Starfield also got cracked immediately upon release of the Premium Edition, and being a completely offline game, there's enough incentive for someone to use an illegal method to play. Yet, neither the impending entry on the Xbox Game Pass nor the release of the crack did anything to dent its sales.

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Xbox Game Pass opens up more revenue streams

While many of the gaming community invested in the Premium Edition, another section refrained from getting the game. The Standard Edition is cheaper, but the Xbox Game Pass is a far more affordable alternative for PC and console users.

Starfield's main campaign might take a long time, but a month of subscription should be enough for someone to complete it. This ability to spend a few dollars and enjoy one of the biggest AAA releases of recent times has also benefitted Bethesda's revenue channels. It goes without saying that many users, myself included, took a subscription to the space opera.

There's also a chance for many new subscribers to retain their subscriptions for the next few months. With Persona 5 Tactica, Forza Motorsport, and Cities Skylines II coming up soon, it makes perfect sense for the subscribers to extend their memberships.

If there wasn't the Game Pass alternative, some PC users might have resorted to using the cracked version. However, this cheaper option strongly incentivizes them to not resort to piracy and instead have immediate access to all the post-launch updates and bug fixes.

Returning to the original point, the sales of the Premium Edition showcase what a video game needs to sell well. Yes, Starfield isn't a finished chapter, and it will require several post-launch patches to remove the lingering issues related to optimization. The Game Pass availability could have also affected some of the sales numbers.

However, quality rules over everything else, even in the modern age of gaming. Many rational human beings might not find much sense in spending a noticeably extra amount for five days quite peculiar.

However, it just goes to show the kind of impression Bethesda managed to create with Starfield. The game's success and huge playerbase have established the role of Xbox Game Pass as the perfect support tool for publishers.