For Xbox Game Pass, you currently pay a flat monthly fee. That may not be necessary in the future, as Microsoft is watching Disney+ and Netflix with great interest.
Free gaming sounds too good to be worth it, but it may not be. Microsoft is looking at a way to make streaming service Xbox Game Pass completely free. Though whether you’re really waiting for it remains to be seen.
Netflix and Disney+ have cheaper subscriptions in some countries. Members get a discount if they choose to see occasional commercials, something Microsoft is also looking forward to.
Xbox Game Pass does things differently than Disney+ and Netflix
Still, there is a big difference between Microsoft, Disney+ and Netflix. The Xbox maker may want to make its service completely free, says Tim Stuart, the finance boss at Microsoft.
“You can say, ‘Hey, do you want to watch an ad for 30 seconds and then get two hours of game streaming,'” he told the Wells Fargo TMT Summit that VGC attended.
It sounds simultaneously appealing and unappealing. Being suddenly presented with advertising in the middle of a game of Call of Duty sounds annoying, but it can certainly be worked around.
Game Pass on a Samsung TV.The strategy is not initially intended for our market, but that of Africa. There, there are plenty of people with smartphones, but often lack the money for an Xbox or a subscription. Although, of course, that reason does not directly exclude gamers in other countries.
No more need for a console
There are also more and more ways to use the Netflix of games without having an Xbox. For example, there are apps for smartphones and televisions or play through the Internet browser on your PC. Whether it requires a console or not, bringing in more Game Pass users is the company’s goal.
Xbox Game Pass can be compared to Disney+ and Netflix. Instead of movies and series, you get access to an offering full of games. These are playable via the cloud, allowing you to game anywhere in the world if you have a stable Internet connection.
So in the future you don’t seem to need a console at all, at least not to use Xbox Game Pass. It will be interesting to see if Nintendo and PlayStation will follow. Incidentally, Netflix seems to have just gone back into the hunt for those companies.
Currently, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is not free. You pay $14.99 a month for the service.