India, July 21 -- Xbox Game Pass changed how players discover and access games. It also left Microsoft with a hard question. Can a subscription service support expensive development, major studio investments, and a steady flow of new releases without a much larger audience?

Former Forza Horizon 5 creative director Mike Brown does not think the original plan worked.

Brown shared his view during a July 16 appearance on The MinnMax Show. He described Game Pass as a good idea for players, but said it did not attract enough subscribers to support the amount Microsoft had invested around it.

"If more people had subscribed, that makes enough money, and it works and all those studios go on and those games get made again," Brown said. "Unfortun...