Sony may be leading Microsoft when it comes to console sales, but it may be Microsoft who will come out the victor when it comes to innovation and exposure. Will Microsoft’s new subscription service bring new users?
Polygon reports that Microsoft is launching the XBOX Game Pass. Unlike the XBOX Gold subscription, where a players is given a few games as a reward for loyalty, the Game Pass will offer immediate access to hundreds of titles supplied by the biggest names in gaming industry like Bandai Namco, SEGA, Warner Bros, Capcom and many more. The core idea of the service is establishing an active, changing library, which allows players to immediately download a game and keep on playing it for as long as the subscription is active. In case that the subscription is cancelled or the game removed from the library, the game’s save data will be kept on the machine in case the user decides to re-activate his subscription.
Kotaku shares further information on the online service. Its library will hold some of the most popular titles for XBOX One and XBOX 360 compatibles. Among the titles are "Halo 5: Guardians", "Payday 2", "NBA 2K16 and SoulCalibur II. The library of accessible titles will be changing on monthly basis, where some titles will be removed and new ones placed on their place. This is expected to make the experience more enjoyable, as players will be able to discover new titles with each consecutive month.
Except direct paly of popular titles, gamers will also game a few other nice extras. XBOX’s official site informs that any titles downloaded through the XBOX Game Pass service will be available for purchase at 20% discount, for as long as the subscription is active. There is also a discount on add-ons which amounts to 10% off the price. Microsoft informs that XBOX Game Pass does not require a XBOX Gold membership, but a Gold membership is required for online multiplayer.
XBOX Game Pass will be available in Spring 2017 at the price of $10 per month.