The Citizen Sleeper developer has stated that Xbox Game Pass is allowing many indie studios to keep going nowadays.
Nine titles are set to leave Xbox Game Pass on April 30, 2026, including Citizen Sleeper, Goat Simulator, and NHL 24.
And that makes it hit even harder
Citizen Sleeper turned out to be a hit in 2022 (excuse the pun), which took the world by storm with exciting mechanics and beautiful art. However, we are in for another treat because the team behind Citizen Sleeper is back at it again with a new project but hasn’t shared with us what we can expect.
Yeah. It's called industry welfare. When you need to take a handout because you can't stand on your own two feet, and don't believe your game can stand out amongst the crowd and sell, it's literally that.
I'm not against a handout when you need it. But to automatically look for a handout instead of believing in your product and making it sell, I do have a problem with it. Beyond the fact game pass hurts sales, it can also bite you in the ass if Microsoft ever has too many big games or popular games on the service and decides to offer you less money in a contract if they don't think your game is worth the dollars. Or just flat out declines from a lack of interest.
Then what will you do? Fall back on sales? When the base is so used to not buying your product and expects to play it for a few dollars? Run to another platform hoping they are interested in your game or hope they pay you to put the product on their service?
These indies are playing with fire. Getting paid now. But they may not like what happens later.
I'm very glad Citizen Sleeper exists