You know how you subscribe to EA’s Access or Origin and get access to a huge number of games for basically nothing? Well, Microsoft is looking to do the very same thing with Xbox Game Pass. So what exactly is this service? In a nutshell, it will give Xbox One gamers access to 100 different titles, including Xbox 360 backward compatible titles. The service will cost $9.99 a month and will include access to a vast library of games. For new Xbox One owners, for just $10 a month, they’ll get access to a nice catalog of past and present games.
This service will be separate from Xbox Live, so it will be an additional charge on top of that. You don’t need to have Xbox Live to use the Xbox Game Pass, however, any online-enabled games will need access to an Xbox Live account.
No specific titles mentioned that will be included, however, Microsoft did include the image below. If this is to be believed, there will be a varied amount of games, including newer titles such as Mad Max, Halo 5 Guardians, Gears of War Ultimate, NBA 2K16 and even older titles. In addition, several companies such as Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home Interactive, Sega, SNK, Warner Bros. and a few others are also onboard with this.
See, unlike other subscription services, you’ll be able to download the games directly to your console vs streaming them. This was easily my biggest concern with PS Now and Gamefly. I had wished that the titles be downloaded to the system instead. Looks like Microsoft beat them to the punch with this one.
Based on fan feedback, streaming/connectivity issues were identified as a major pain point for competing game subscription services. That’s why games on Xbox Game Pass will be downloaded to your Xbox One, providing fans with a native, full-fidelity gaming experience and the ability to play downloaded games offline for up to 30 days.
There will also be no limit to how many games you can download to your Xbox One either.
No – so get your storage ready! Gamers love to play, which is why Xbox Game Pass gives you unlimited access to over 100 backward compatible Xbox 360 and Xbox One games while they are in the active catalog. There is no limit to the number of games you can download from Xbox Game Pass, other than the hard drive capacity, which you can manage or upgrade at Xbox.com.
Microsoft hasn’t announced the full title line-up just yet but does mention that the line-up of games will change over time. Something else worth mentioning is that Microsoft has stated that this is only available for Xbox One and Windows 10 devices. Meaning we could possibly see this make it’s way over to Windows 10 PCs as well.
Xbox Game Pass will only be available on Xbox One and Windows 10 devices. While some Xbox 360 backwards compatible games will be included in Xbox Game Pass, those titles will not be available on the Xbox 360 console via your subscription.
This definitely isn’t far fetched as Phil Spencer had mentioned this earlier this year and not to rule anything out.
There hasn’t been any mention as to when the service will be available, but it will be access to Xbox Live Gold members first. Hopefully the service will be accessible worldwide and not in limited to certain locations.
We’ll provide updates once we know more about the service.
For more information on Xbox Game Pass, head over to www.xbox.com/en-US/games/xbox-game-pass.
