It’s no secret that Xbox lost the current-gen console war with PlayStation, but that doesn’t mean they can’t change strategy moving forward. At least there's Game Pass, with the subscription service having a stellar year.
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Xbox head Phil Spencer has put an emphasis on making games available for more consoles and promoting the Game Pass, and though the subscription service may have been scoffed at by gamers before, now looks to be the perfect time to subscribe—thanks to all the great available titles.
Xbox Game Pass Today
As The Verge’s Tom Warren has pointed out, subscribing to the Game Pass now would get you a load of great new and incoming titles including Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as well as the recently launched The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered.
Take note that even though ‘Xbox’ is right in the name of the Game Pass, you don’t necessarily need an Xbox to be able to access the games. The Game Pass service also works for anyone playing on PC, and there are also a few select cloud-compatible games that allow you to stream games on any device be it your phone, laptop, or tablet.
Xbox Game Pass Tiers
Of course, not every player is the same, and some may have time to access everything in their library, while others are okay with just playing games every few weeks. Players can choose between Core ($10.95/month), Standard ($15.95/month), and Ultimate ($22.95/month)for the Xbox, but there is also a PC plan (first 14 days for $1, then $13.95/month)—Ultimate is also available for both platforms.
If you want to follow Xbox head Phil Spencer’s advice, he recommends that anyone who has the time for games should get the Game Pass, but if you’re more of a casual gamer who won’t even have time to really look in-depth into the library, maybe it’s best if you just buy the games you want by themselves.
Decline of the Console?
Though Xbox may have had a tough time in the market recently, some have observed that consoles are seeing a decline as a whole—at least with this current gen. For now, it does seem like Xbox is ahead of the curve when they’re thinking of just making their games more accessible, as compared to convincing everyone to get a console.
We don’t know how long until their strategy pays off, but with the expected skyrocketing of game prices that started with the Switch 2 and is coming with the release of GTA VI, the concept of the Game Pass is starting to look more appealing to consumers.