Have you been enjoying the all-you-can-download buffet of digital goods offered to you via the Xbox Game Pass? Well, if you think that smorgasbord of succulent software has upped the ante for Microsoft's console to buy-worthy heights, you may not have to purchase the console to get in on the Game Pass deal, because it's coming to PC.
Over on Windows Central it's being reported that Microsoft is continuing to push the gaming front forward after the gaming division rose by 44% in the last quarter. A lot of that is due to the push Microsoft has been making in the digital distribution area, specifically the Xbox Game Pass.
Due to the success of the Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft will be trying its hand at a PC version of the same thing. During the quarterly conference call, Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, confirmed that the Game Pass will be headed to PC.
The service relies on rotating games in a library that extends up to 100 games at a time. As pointed out in the article, the service includes access to mostly Microsoft's first-party games, including the Halo series, Gears of War, and the Forza Horizon games, amongst many others.
Windows Central also asks the one question that was swimming around in my own head: if the Game Pass comes to PC what games will it have?
Some of you might think that Microsoft could get by offering Windows 10 games on the platform, but that's not really a viable business strategy since there aren't many exclusive games on Windows 10 that people would be willing to pay $9.99 a month for. Sure, there's Forza Motorsport 7 and Age of Empires, but what else?
Essentially, the subscription service looks palatable to a lot of console gamers because there are a lot of expensive console games that they might want to purchase but don't have the means to. So, $9.99 a month to play-test a bunch of $60 AAA games is a nice way to save some coin and play your favorite games without breaking the bank.
But, if Microsoft won't be making Xbox games available to help sweeten the deal, then what exactly will lead people to the service? I can easily imagine plenty of PC gamers paying $9.99 a month to play Halo 5 or other upcoming Xbox One exclusives. But it's unlikely that Microsoft would sign off on allowing its first-party exclusives to appear on PC, given that it would completely diminish the need to purchase an Xbox One.
Maybe Microsoft has some other plan in tow, possibly expanding the third-party offerings to lure gamers into the fold? It wouldn't be a bad plan but then it would be competing with other subscription services like EA Access and Origin Access.
There's no time frame right now on when we can expect to see the PC version of the Game Pass go live. I imagine it will arrive in time for other big Microsoft releases such as Gears of War 5 or the upcoming Crackdown 3, the latter of which is due out in February of 2019.
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