Companies paying for exclusives so customers will pay to access exclusives feels like bad economics. It's reduces the number of people something can be sold to.

Companies paying for exclusives so customers will pay to access exclusives feels like bad economics. It's reduces the number of people something can be sold to. My best explanation is that it's developers and content creators selling potential upside in return for reducing their risk - Microsoft can diversify between multiple games. I suppose it's a bit like advertising a platform that makes money via advertising, which hasn't collapsed yet.