Monthly round-up: Fewer games added, and more games removed from services in July than in June 2021

From June to July 2021, the overall number of titles included in Ampere’s tracked games content subscription services increased by less than 1%. The Magenta Gaming catalogue grew by 9%, the largest relative increase witnessed in July 2021 but from a small base: Half of the games added to the service were published by Plug In Digital. EA Play on PC saw the largest relative decrease in July 2021, with its catalogue size dropping by 9%. Three-quarters of the games removed from EA Play on PC belonged to the Star Wars franchise and 67% of the titles were published before 2000.

From June 2021 to July 2021, 70% fewer games overall were added to the tracked services. However, the number of games removed in July 2021 was over double that of June 2021. Blacknut accounted for the largest share of total new games added at 17%. 26% of the games added to Blacknut were published by divisions within the Embracer Group, including two games from the Saints Row franchise. Instalments in the Saints Row franchise are included in multiple subscription services: In July 2021, eight subscription services included at least one Saints Row title in its catalogue and six of the services were from telco operators.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate accounted for the largest share of total games removed at 28%, this is largely due to EA Play, which is included in Game Pass Ultimate, removing multiple titles. Notably, Monster Hunter: World was dropped from the service after a catalogue stay of over two years. Subscribers to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate can currently purchase the game at a 20% discount to keep it in their library. This demonstrates how titles included in subscription services can lead to premium full-game sales, particularly games that entices players to engage with it in the long term.

Urban Trial Tricky Deluxe Edition becomes Blacknut’s first launch day release

During July, Tate Multimedia’s Urban Trial Tricky Deluxe Edition was released on PC, console, and Blacknut–the game’s exclusive cloud streaming partner. It became the first title to be added to Blacknut’s catalogue on the same day as its official launch. This is a result of a long-term partnership between the publisher and Blacknut, which has seen several titles published on the subscription service since 2018. The partnership enables Tate Multimedia to showcase its content to those who would not typically be exposed to it, such as casual gamers or gamers who do not have access to a PC or console.

Blacknut revealed that Sport is the most popular genre played on its service, accounting for over 30% of overall playtime. Despite this, in terms of numbers of distinct titles, the genre accounted for just 5% of the whole catalogue in July 2021, with the largest genre being Puzzle at 22%. Ampere’s Q2 2021 consumer research also shows that 71% of users who churned from the service stated that they did not enjoy the games available. This suggests that there is some disconnect between the users that Blacknut is acquiring and the catalogue on offer. Ampere believes this is likely not helped by a lack of awareness of mainstream consumers about cloud gaming services and what they offer. Overcoming this knowledge gap will take time to achieve for all cloud gaming services.

Space Jam: A New Legacy–The Game is pre-released as a perk in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Also during July, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members were able to claim Space Jam: A New Legacy– he Game as a perk before its general release on the Microsoft store on 15 July 2021, upon which it was free to all users. The movie counterpart did not debut until over two weeks after the pre-release of the game and one day after the general release (16 July 2021). This demonstrates the growing appetite amongst the wider entertainment industry to draw an audience from the gaming community. Due to the release timeline, the free title was intended to generate excitement and drive traffic towards the launch of the movie, with hopes of boosting box office attendance and viewership on the streaming service HBO Max.