xCloud was included for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on September 15, 2020, which adds the ability for cloud gaming to select Android mobile devices, with initially over 100 games optimized for the services. Support for additional Android mobile devices are expected later.[13] xCloud support for iOS devices via Safari and via desktop browsers on Windows and macOS computers, was added in beta form in early 2021 and fully released to all Game Pass Ultimate subscribers by June 28, 2021.[14][15]
Microsoft partnered with Electronic Arts (EA) in September 2020 to bring the basic EA Play service to Xbox Game Pass subscribers on Xbox and PC, with EA Play being made available on console and xCloud to Game Pass Ultimate members on November 10, 2020 (the same day as the launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S), before expanding to PC for Game Pass Ultimate and Game Pass for PC members on March 18, 2021.[16][17][18] Spencer said in October 2020 that their current pricing model for Game Pass at this point was considered "completely sustainable" despite concerns from some developers that they were undercharging for it, and that Microsoft had no plans to raise the price in the near future.[19]
In June 2021, Microsoft stated that it was working on a Game Pass app for smart TVs, as well as a "standalone streaming device". Both of these offerings would be built around xCloud.[20] In December 2021, Microsoft announced the rebranding of Xbox Game Pass for PC as "PC Game Pass" to reduce market confusion. The service continues to be branded with the Xbox logo.[21]
On January 18, 2022, Microsoft announced that Game Pass had surpassed 25 million subscribers.[22] On that same day, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard and to begin integrating Activision's catalog of games into Game Pass.[22]
Riot Games, which has traditionally offered its games through its own launcher, announced in June 2022 that they will be adding their free-to-play games including League of Legends to Xbox Game Pass later in 2022. For games like League of Legends, the full roster of champions or heroes will be available to Game Pass subscribers, while for other titles like Legends of Runeterra, subscribers to Game Pass will receive in-game rewards.[23]
A Friends and Family tier was revealed in September 2022, with trials first released in Ireland and Colombia. The higher priced plan, estimated to be $25/month, allows one to share their account with up to four others, limited to those within the same country as the account holder.[24]
Structure[edit]
Xbox Game Pass is similar to Xbox One's existing EA Play video game subscription and to the PlayStation Now service offered by rival Sony.[5][25] The subscription catalog contained more than 100 games at launch, with games being added to, and sometimes withdrawn from, the catalog from time to time.[26] Xbox Game Pass allows the player to download the full game to the console; according to Head of Xbox Phil Spencer, this was done to give players "continuous, full-fidelity gameplay without having to worry about streaming, bandwidth or connectivity issues".[27] Unlike EA Access, Xbox Game Pass offers games from a wide range of publishers, such as Bandai Namco, Capcom, WB Games, 2K Games, and first-party games from Xbox Game Studios.[26] According to Spencer, Microsoft sees the Game Pass as more of a platform to offer games that do not fit the common mold that sell well and would be difficult to gain a publisher, and instead to allow these games to be offered in the subscription model, encouraging both developers to create new and experimental titles. The Game Pass also provides a way for players to try games they would not normally have purchased.[28]
The catalog features select games for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One as well as select Xbox 360 and Xbox titles with which Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One are backwards-compatible.[27] There is no limit to the number of games a player can download and install to their consoles, other than the amount of storage space available to the console.[26] As long as a game remains in the catalog, it is available for unlimited download and play by subscribers.[27] Players can purchase games in the catalog at a 20% discount, and any related add-on content for those games at a 10% discount. The discounted price is available only while the game is in the catalog and is only for the particular game.[27] Games from the catalog can be played while the console is offline, but for no more than 30 days before it must reconnect to verify an active subscription.[29]
If the game is removed from the catalog or the player ends their subscription, access is suspended until the player purchases the game or renews their subscription, but their in-game progress will be saved in the interim.[27] If the game is an Xbox 360 title, it will be backward-compatible and must be used on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One; it cannot be downloaded to a player's Xbox 360 console unless the player chooses to purchase it.[27]
Spencer has stated that Microsoft has multiple ways to compensate developers for games on Game Pass and there is no one single payback approach. The payback scheme ranges from a flat rate approach as to assure exclusivity on the Microsoft platform, to completely covering the costs of development, and includes various models based on usage and monetization approaches.[30] Paradox Interactive's Fredrik Wester stated the terms they have had followed the Netflix model where the developer or publisher was paid a lump sum by Microsoft for their game on the service for a fixed period of time based on a perceived value, rather than the per-play royalty-based approach used by services like Spotify.[31] The upfront approach, along with the large subscriber numbers, allows developers to select ongoing directions for their games. In the case of Obsidian Entertainment, they were able to consider additional downloadable content for their game Outer Worlds as they knew millions were playing it.[28]
In a July 2020 interview, Xbox's marketing director Aaron Greenberg said that Xbox Game Pass is not necessarily meant to be profitable for Microsoft at the current time but is designed to help draw more players to use it through word-of-mouth by offering a large set of features as a seemingly under priced value, and in the long-term become valuable. This allows them to avoid high costs of advertising the service.[32] As part of a published report as part of Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision-Blizzard in 2022, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority reported that Game Pass did cannibalize sales of games for around the first year they are present on the service. Spencer acknowledged the report, but stated the "you instantly have more players of the game, which is actually leading to more sales of the game".[33]
While there had been rumors that Microsoft was working to bring Xbox Game Pass to other console platforms like the PlayStation or Nintendo Switch, Spencer said in an August 2021 interview that there are currently no plans for these consoles. Spencer said "We have no plans to bring [the full Xbox experience] to any other kind of closed platforms right now, mainly because those closed platforms don't want something like Game Pass" and that their focus was on making it available to open systems like personal computers and web applications.[34]
Subscribers[edit]
In the Q3 2020 earnings call in April 2020, Microsoft reported that there were over 10 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers.[35] By September 2020, it had reached 15 million subscribers,[36] 18 million by January 2021,[37] and greater than 25 million by January 2022.[38] According to documents related to the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Game Pass had total revenues of $2.9 billion in the fiscal year ending January 2021, which was about 30% of Microsoft's games and services revenues, or 18% of its total Xbox business.[39]
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