Xbox Games Pass will now include new releases

Since it launched in June 2017, Microsoft’s game subscription service Xbox Games Pass has been an interesting proposition for committed Xbox players.

Now, the company has announced that it’s planning to expand the service further and make it a more appealing proposition.  From today, all new Xbox One exclusive games from Microsoft Studios will be made available on Xbox Games Pass on the same date as their global release.

This means that when Sea of Thieves launches on March 20 and Crackdown 3 is released later this spring, Xbox Games Pass subscribers will be able to play them immediately. It’s not only titles that we know are coming, either – Microsoft has promised that all future games from Microsoft Studios, announced or not, will also be added on their launch day. 

Day one access

Alongside this news, Microsoft has also said that it’s planning to bring more subscription offerings to the table in response to requests from its users. At the moment, the service only gives subscribers the option to pay on a month-to-month basis, which is very limited compared to the wide range of payment plans available for other Xbox services such as Xbox Live Gold. 

By working with its retail partners, Microsoft has said that from March 20 it’ll be able to offer a six-month subscription card which will be available from select retailers for US$59.99. Pricing for this pass is yet to be confirmed for UK and Australian markets. 

Now available in more than 40 countries with a consistently curated catalog, it’s safe to say that Microsoft’s Netflix-for-games experiment is working. This expansion certainly increases the value of the service, especially for dedicated Microsoft fans. 

It should be noted, however, that there aren’t a huge number of Microsoft Studios exclusives on the horizon. We're hoping that this means Microsoft is planning to make its library of exclusives more robust and competitive in the future. 

If you're not a Games Pass subscriber yet, you can sign up now to try a 14-day free trial. 

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January 23, 2018 at 09:58PM
Emma Boyle