Xbox Game Pass: Strong numbers, big plans - so it goes on

Xbox Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass is still on the rise. It wasn't until April 2021 that the subscription service had more than 23 million users, a new high for a model that was only launched four years ago. Shortly before this year's E3, Microsoft presented new figures and results, and some future plans for the Game Pass were presented.

Game Pass makes experimentation fun

According to Microsoft, many people sniff Game Pass -Subscribers keep exploring new genres: More than 90 percent of users said they had played games that they simply would not have tried without the Game Pass. This expands the customer base enormously. According to Microsoft, about half of the users would also spend more money on additional content than non-members.

Microsoft also emphasizes the successful cooperation with other publishers such as Electronic Arts. Their own subscription service EA Play has been available via Game Pass Ultimate since November 2020, and the feature has also been available on PC since March 2021. As a result, games from the EA Play catalog were played more than 200 percent longer than before on Microsoft platforms. EA is said to have reached millions of new players on Xbox platforms as a result.

Game Pass Ultimate should offer the best and most seamless gaming experience, whether on the PC or the Xbox. Source: Square Enix's Microsoft Outriders is highlighted. The game was included in Game Pass at launch, but in its first week it was also # 1 in digital sales on Xbox consoles. According to Microsoft, the Game Pass ensured that Outriders found several million new users, which could ultimately have an impact on sales figures. Sony's MLB: The Show 21, which was playable on Xbox for the first time and brought with it cross-play, also caused a lot of joy in the launch week: The baseball game was not only a hit in Game Pass, but according to Microsoft also the best-selling Xbox title in April 2020, that makes it - on Xbox platforms - the second most successful sports game of all time.

Game Pass on more TV sets + new streaming hardware

Strives to expand the customer base Microsoft's Xbox team is working more closely with TV manufacturers. For Internet-enabled TV sets, there should be an integrated Xbox environment in the future, which should get by without additional hardware - only a controller is still required. Greetings from Stadia. In addition, there should be new subscription models for the Game Pass, which should appeal to even more groups of players. In addition, Microsoft wants to work more closely with telecommunications companies, for example to offer an Xbox console including a game pass at low monthly rates.

The future belongs (also) to the cloud

Cloud gaming on TV, consoles and Mobile devices should play an even more important role in the future. Source: Microsoft For Microsoft, cloud gaming should play an even more important role in the future. Microsoft is currently working on its own streaming devices that will enable cloud gaming via Game Pass on all televisions or monitors. Within the next few weeks, the cloud gaming function should also be available via Edge, Chrome or Safari, the feature is reserved for Ultimate members. The Microsoft data centers are currently being converted to Xbox Series X (buy now € 499.90), which is intended to bring the experience to the next-gen level. Sometime later this year, the cloud gaming function will be integrated directly into the Xbox app on the PC as well as on the console itself. As a result, in the future, for example, play options should be offered before the actual purchase.

Regular exclusive titles

According to Microsoft, more than 23 studios worldwide are currently working on Xbox titles. They plan to release at least one major first-party title each quarter, including exclusive role-playing games, shooters, strategy and adventure games.

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Xbox Game Pass: Microsoft Studio Games Now Off Launch available loadVideoPlayer ('77125', '& sAdSetCsategory = article_featured', 16, '16: 9 ', false, 1373669, false, 268616, 260, false, 0,' ',' ', false); Xbox One from € 449.90 Have you already tried the Game Pass or is a subscription model just not for you? Write us your experiences in the comments section!