Starfield had a hype to it well before Microsoft even purchased Bethesda. You say every game on Game Pass has 30 million potential users and just Starfield made that list and I say Hogwarts Legacy outsold Starfield and didn't make the list. Starfield didn't make that list for the love it made the list because it was quite possible the largest hyped game to ever hit Game Pass and so many people had access to the game at no extra charge many people played it.Game didn’t sell anywhere near 40-45 million. I know pretty much every PS5 sold since the game came out came with the game attached to it whether those people wanted the game and spent time with it or not.
Paying for gamepass and choosing to play starfield is a deliberate choice and people made that choice enough for starfiled to be a top 10 most played games on xbox.
Spider-man 2 didn’t break the top 10 of playstation most played games despite the fact that it was a free pack in for millions of consoles.
Every game on gamepass instantly has 30 million potential users. Only one of them ended up in the top ten of most played games on xbox
Starfield Secured a Unique Player Count Record in 2023
According to a recent report published by Newzoo, Starfield secured a unique player count record in 2023 - check out the full report here.
insider-gaming.com
Which is exactly what I said. This game only made the list because it was a majorly hyped game on a subscription service. It flamed out fast.Starfield was a standout example amongst these lists, which took data from thirty-seven markets around the world. It was the only single-player-exclusive game to hit the top ten on a global scale, which was likely thanks to the game launching as part of Xbox Game Pass in September 2023. It wound up in eighth place overall, sitting between Rocket League and Apex Legends.
Ultimately, Starfield’s marketing campaign and hype train is what won over millions of players initially, but the drive behind the title seems to have fallen flat since it was released toward the end of 2023.