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In a recent interview with Dbltap, former Bethesda Head of Publishing and Communication Pete Hines offered harsh criticism of subscription services like Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. According to Hines, before leaving the company in October 2023, content creators were not adequately rewarded when their games were added to these subscription services.
Hines stated:
“I’m no longer working at any of these companies, so I can’t assume my knowledge still holds true today. However, I saw what I considered to be some short-sighted decision-making several years ago, and it seems to be playing out as expected. Subscriptions have become the new four-letter word, right? You can’t buy a product anymore. When you talk about a subscription that relies on content, if you don’t balance the needs of the service with those providing the content – without which your subscription is worthless – then you have a real problem. You need to properly acknowledge, compensate, and recognize what it takes to create that content, not just make a game but a product. This tension is hurting a lot of people, including content creators themselves, because they’re fitting into an ecosystem that doesn’t properly value or reward their work.”
Pete Hines, who had experience with Game Pass (Bethesda was acquired by Xbox a couple of years before his departure), received support from Shannon Loftis, a former Xbox executive and VP of Xbox Game Studios. In a brief LinkedIn message, Loftis echoed Hines’s concerns:
“As a longtime first-party Xbox developer, I can confirm Pete is correct. While Game Pass has seen some successes with games that would otherwise have flopped (Human Fall Flat, for example), the majority of game adoption on Game Pass comes at the expense of retail revenue unless the game is designed for post-release monetization.”
Subscription services spending grew significantly in June 2025 in the US, reaching a record $562 million. However, this increase does not necessarily mean that game developers and publishers have been adequately rewarded. Nonetheless, it indicates that companies like Microsoft and Sony will continue to invest in this business model.
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In the same interview, Hines revealed his biggest regret at Bethesda was related to the Fallout 76 Collector’s Edition. The package was initially supposed to include a canvas bag but was replaced with a cheaper nylon bag, leading to fan outrage. Initially, users were offered only 500 Atoms as compensation, and Hines did not push for an immediate replacement of the nylon bag with the promised canvas bag. Eventually, he acknowledged the mistake and sent out canvas bags to those who had ordered that edition.
