Xbox Game Pass and Why it's Worth It!
The so-called “Console Wars” have been raging on for decades now, but one seemingly obvious business model has sent one of the companies over the edge. That company is Microsoft, and the model is Xbox Game Pass.
For those of you who are unaware of Game Pass, it is a service you subscribe to through Microsoft allowing you to download and play games in the Xbox library, including day one releases and older classics. What sets this service apart from its competitors is that you’re not streaming the games, you are actually downloading them to your console.
I personally have been a PlayStation person ever since I first picked up a controller, and PlayStation has their own version of this service called PlayStation Now. I have given this service a solid try because the library is incredible, with games dating all the way back to the original PlayStation. Now, this all sounds good on paper, but you are streaming the games. Basically what that means is, if you have poor internet access, you’re out of luck, and you still paid for the month.
In comes Microsoft! On Feb. 28, 2017, Microsoft announced Game Pass. According to Executive Vice President of Gaming at Microsoft, Phil Spencer, “the business model allows for people to consume and find games that they wouldn’t have played in any other space.” Game Pass launched with a select few Xbox first party games and is now host to over 100 games for Xbox, PC, phones and tablets.
In April of 2019 Xbox announced Game Pass Ultimate which bundles your Xbox Live gold subscription with the Game Pass library across all platforms for only $14.99/Month. Not only can you play Xbox games like Halo: Combat Evolved, but Microsoft has teamed up with EA giving subscribers even more choices for Game Pass including all of the Battlefield games, FIFA, and Madden! Not only this, but as of March 9, 2021, Microsoft finalized a deal with developer Bethesda for $7.5 Billion allowing them to have exclusivity and add fan favorites like the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series’ to Game Pass.
I was an Xbox-hater for a very long time, but after Game Pass I truly believe that Xbox is making all of the right moves for the future of games. Phil Spencer said in a statement that their pricing model is considered “completely sustainable” at this point, and Microsoft has no intention of changing that pricing model any time soon. That is an insane deal for that many games at your disposal.
The beauty of Game Pass is that it allows you to try games with no consequences if you don’t like it. I’m sure we’ve all purchased a game that looked so good, but once we got home and put it in, it was such a disappointment. You’d be lucky to get a fraction of your money back from that purchase, so you’re left with a bad game or a game that’s just not for you. With Game Pass, I have downloaded multiple games that I’ve been curious about, but was too afraid to buy because I didn’t want to waste my money and if I didn’t like it, I would uninstall it. On the other side of that coin though, I have found games that I absolutely love now because of this service.
I would recommend Game Pass to anyone. If you have an Xbox or PC I would go as far to say it is a necessity. They always offer different deals as well for you to get up to three months free at points! That is a no brainer to me. If you hate it, that’s totally fair, but I believe that anyone who enjoys playing games should give it a try.
