Perhaps now more than ever, gaming is, in relation to other media entertainment, an increasingly expensive hobby to have. With triple-A releases easily hitting the $60 mark just for standard copies – special editions, season passes and DLC all add to that base price – it should really come as no surprise that the big names in the industry have frequent discounts and other promotions to help consumers make their money go that little bit further.
Microsoft, it seems, is looking to expand that focus this spring with Xbox Game Pass, a new monthly subscription service that will offer “unlimited access” to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles (by way of backward compatibility) to those that sign-up. The announcement comes by way of Xbox head Phil Spencer over on Xbox Wire, which provides a handy rundown of what to expect when the service begins later this spring.
Xbox Game Pass gives you unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and backward compatible Xbox 360 games – all for $9.99 per month,” says Spencer, adding that “there’s something for everyone to enjoy and you will always find something exciting to play across a variety of genres.” While Spencer doesn’t provide a full list of games that will be available come launch day, Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16 and SoulCalibur 2 are specifically mentioned as being included in the first rotation, with new games being cycled in each month to replace others in order to give users a “constantly-updating library of games.”
As for other benefits besides having access to more games than you’ll ever play, subscribers will get exclusive discounts for all titles currently included in the cycle as well as their respective add-ons, with Xbox Live Gold Members being among the first to get access to the service before it rolls out to the wider community.
That about wraps up everything we know right now, but tell us, what are your thoughts on Xbox Game Pass? Let us know if you plan to be a subscriber (or not) in the usual place.