Highlights
- Microsoft is determined to bring Xbox Game Pass to as many platforms as possible, including PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.
- Xbox Game Pass offers a wide range of games for a low monthly fee, and all first-party Microsoft games are included.
- The acquisition of Activision Blizzard is expected to help Xbox expand Game Pass, with Call of Duty potentially becoming a major addition to the service in the future.
Microsoft is still looking to push Xbox Game Pass onto as many screens as possible, including PlayStation and Nintendo consoles. This initiative isn't an entirely new one, as Microsoft reportedly tried to bring Xbox Game Pass to PlayStation at least once before. Not to mention, there have been rumbles for years about Game Pass being added to the Switch to no avail. After a while, gamers would be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft has given up on what many have thought to be a pipe dream, but that's not how Xbox sees it.
Even before this push to new platforms, Game Pass has been a ground-breaking platform for Xbox. The service offers hundreds of games to subscribers for a relatively low monthly fee – everything from classic titles to day-one releases. Notably, every first-party game from Microsoft launches on the service for no additional charge. This strategy has been a hit for big AAA games, like how Starfield helped Xbox Game Pass reach a new subscription milestone.
Xbox Teasing Big Announcements for The Game Awards 2023
With just over a week until The Game Awards 2023, Microsoft teases Xbox news that fans 'don't want to miss' at the upcoming showcase.
Xbox CFO Tim Stuart recently talked at the Wells Fargo TMT Summit, where he shared Microsoft's desire for Game Pass to be on "every screen" possible. While Stuart included smart TVs and mobile devices, the Xbox boss also referred to platforms like Nintendo and PlayStation consoles – two hardware and software manufacturers that Microsoft has "thought [of] as competitors in the past."
... Our mission is to bring our first-party experiences, our subscription services to every screen that can [play a game]. That means smart TVs, that means mobile devices. That means what we would have thought as competitors in the past like PlayStation and Nintendo.
Stuart also added Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard will help Xbox take its "high-margin business," the Game Pass subscription service, to more gamers more quickly. A big part of this is likely to be one of Microsoft's newly acquired IPs, Call of Duty. The Call of Duty franchise is one of the most profitable gaming series of all time, and being able to tie that into Game Pass in some way will undoubtedly be huge for the service.
Of course, Activision Blizzard games are still missing from the Game Pass library. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Specer explained that Activision Blizzard titles will take time to reach Game Pass due to uncertainty that accompanied the acquisition before it finally closed. While no specific window has been given, many expect to see Activision Blizzard titles on Xbox Game Pass in 2024 based on statements by both companies. With Microsoft teasing some major announcements coming during The Game Awards 2023, perhaps that could be the night Xbox shows fans its roadmap for bringing Activision Blizzard titles to Game Pass.
What remains to be seen is if Nintendo and PlayStation will allow Xbox Game Pass onto the respective platforms. While Microsoft might not currently see Nintendo and PlayStation as competitors, it's still unclear whether the historical rivals feel the same way.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft's flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you can play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.