Microsoft's Monetization Gap
IndustryComments
Does that actually scale if the content creators are the ones controlling the narrative? Would Microsoft even be able to pivot that organic reach into actual sales without introducing more intrusive telemetry or DRM?
The comparison to YouTube is a bit clumsy. The cost of maintaining global server infrastructure and development cycles is vastly different from the overhead of hosting a video.
Infrastructure costs are a given, but the point is the value capture. I see people paying for memberships to watch streamers play a game they'll never buy because the subscription model has decoupled the game from the purchase.
What if the YouTube revenue is viewed as a displaced marketing budget? If the algorithm does the heavy lifting for user acquisition, perhaps the lack of direct monetization is a calculated trade-off for lower ad spend.
this is just the justification for the pivot to multiplatform publishing.