Xbox Game Pass Revealed by Microsoft Set To Release This Spring

Written by Brandon Hofer on February 28, 2017

News: Microsoft introduces a new service where you get access to a huge number of games for a great price.

Microsoft has just dropped some really big news for Xbox gamers with the reveal of Xbox Game Pass. This is a new gaming subscription service that will give you unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games, all for only $9.99 a month. It seems like this has industry support as well with companies like 2K, 505 Games, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Codemasters, Deep Silver, Focus Home Interactive, Sega, SNK, THQ Nordic, Warner Bros and more participating in this program.

One of the great things about the Xbox Game Pass is that it is not a streaming service. Just like with EA Access, you download the games to your hard drive and can play them natively on your console. This is a fantastic move by Microsoft as now you won’t have to worry about latency or any other potential internet issues while you are playing your game(s). If you decide to become a Xbox Game Pass member you will also receive an exclusive discount if you find a game you really enjoy and want to purchase. This is important because games will rotate in and out of the service. It is going to work like Netflix in this regard.

Every month some games rotate out of the service while other games will join the service but not every title will be affected every month. For example, if there are 50 games available in the Xbox Game Pass on any given month then maybe 10 or 20 will leave the program while others enter it. These are just numbers to illustrate my point and not numbers given out by Microsoft. They also revealed a few titles that will be participating in this program such as Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16 and SoulCalibur II. With this cycle of games going in and out of the program that means you will have virtually an endless cycle of titles to explore for only $9.99 a month.

If you are in the Alpha Preview ring of the Xbox Insider Program (formerly known as the Preview Program) then this new feature might be available to you right now. The Xbox Game Pass will have a limited number of titles during this testing phase and will provide a small glimpse at the catalog of games that will be available when this services launches for everyone in the Spring. Xbox Live Gold members will also receive exclusive access to Xbox Game Pass prior to the program launching.

What do you think about the Xbox Game Pass? Do you plan on being a member? For $9.99 a month you really can’t go wrong.