3 years ago
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According to confidential documents, Microsoft was planning to reduce its 30% revenue share for Xbox Store games by 18%, moving the split between the developers and itself from 70/30 to 88/12.
As reported by The Verge, these documents were filed for the upcoming Epic Games vs. Apple case in January 2021 and state that "all games will move to 88/12 in CY21."
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Also stated on the same page is the already announced news that Microsoft will be increasing the revenue share of PC games on the Microsoft Store by the same 18% on August 1, 2021.
This would be a significant move for the console games industry as Xbox, Nintendo, and Sony currently all have a revenue share split of 70/30. Microsoft's move on the PC side has put it in line with Epic Games' 88/12 split and moved it away from the 70/30 split that Steam still uses.
However, a Microsoft spokesperson did tell The Verge that "We have no plans to change the revenue share for console games at this time." As The Verge notes, this could mean that the plans have fallen through, have changed, or Microsoft isn't ready to announce or commit to them.
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Microsoft also refused to comment on another important part of the documents that revealed Microsoft would offer this 88/12 split for PC games revenue share "for all games in exchange for streaming rights to Microsoft." This would clearly be a move to bolster Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming and Xbox Game Pass service.
Also detailed were some of the exclusivity deals in place for Microsoft games, including S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's three-month deal, Tetris Effect: Connected's six-month deal, and a deal that would make The Gunk "exclusive in perpetuity."
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.