Microsoft announces Xbox Game Pass subscription service

http://news.xbox.com/2017/02/28/introducing-xbox-game-pass/

At Xbox, we put gamers at the center of everything we do and remain committed to giving you the freedom to play the games you want, with the friends you want, on the devices you want. This year is shaping up to be an exciting one for gamers. As we prepare to launch Project Scorpio this holiday, bringing the most powerful console ever made to the Xbox One family of devices, we continue to make platform improvements to connect the growing community of players on Xbox Live and add to a robust and diverse portfolio of games across Xbox One and Windows 10.

Today, we’re continuing our commitment to give you more options to diversify and expand your library of games with Xbox Game Pass, a new gaming subscription service coming 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.

With great games from top industry publishers such as 2K, 505 Games, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Capcom, Codemasters, Deep Silver, Focus Home Interactive, SEGA, SNK CORPORATION, THQ Nordic GmbH, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Microsoft Studios, there’s something for everyone to enjoy and you will always find something exciting to play across a variety of genres. Some of the fan-favorite titles coming to Xbox Game Pass when it launches to the broader Xbox community later this spring include Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16 and SoulCalibur II.

One of the best things about Xbox Game Pass is that you can discover and download the full titles directly on your Xbox One. That means continuous, full-fidelity gameplay without having to worry about streaming, bandwidth or connectivity issues. In addition, all Xbox One games in the catalog – and related add-ons – will be available to purchase at an exclusive discount for Xbox Game Pass members, so you can make the games you love part of your permanent library to play whenever you want. Every month new games will cycle into the subscription with some cycling out, giving you a constantly-updating library of games. Xbox Game Pass is your ticket to endless play.

It’s important to us that Xbox Game Pass provides an enjoyable and seamless experience. Before the program rolls out to the broader community later this spring, we’ll be testing Xbox Game Pass with select members of the Xbox Insider Program in the Alpha Preview ring starting today with a very limited number of titles. The titles that are available in Preview are just a small glimpse at the expansive catalog of games that will be available when Xbox Game Pass launches this spring. Xbox Live Gold members will also be receiving exclusive access to Xbox Game Pass prior to the program launching to the broader community. We’ll have more details on timing closer to launch.

We hope you enjoy Xbox Game Pass and all that it has to offer. We’re looking forward to hearing the feedback from the gamers in the Xbox Insider Program and then from the rest of the Xbox community when it’s broadly available later this spring. Your feedback will make this program better for all gamers.

Thank you for your continued passion and support of Xbox.

Phil Spencer

Read more at http://news.xbox.com/2017/02/28/introducing-xbox-game-pass/#FsdGpF6o1pD25IWd.99

We are slowly but surely moving away from traditional consoles. This makes me very hopeful this service will one day be on PC and I can finally play Halo 5.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Oh, where are you guys at who were crapping all over PSNow?!

SHOW YOURSELVES!

I have EA access and buy all the exclusives I want to play on X1, so I wont need this. $9.99 a month is high in my opinion.

Unless BC support stops for X1 this doesn't really change anything,

That's actually a great deal. EA Access but more expensive for more games. cool. i'm liking this focus on features fom MS. Now put some OG BC in.

PSnow is streaming, and there's no BC or ea access on ps4

XGP is download and there's 360 bc and ea access on the xbone.

nice try though.

I forget that a feature that failed to sell launch PS3s is such a big deal to people now.

I'm right here.

Streaming games vs. downloading the game

$20 monthly vs. $10 monthly

Last gen games vs. Current AND Last gen games

PS4 lacks backwards compatibility vs. Xbox 1 doesn't

This is MUCH better.

This sounds like a good idea but I'm curious on what games make the cut and for more recent titles how long will it be before they pop on said list. Overall not terrible but not great at the same time.

Seems M$ is trying to copy Godny and its PSNow service. Lems kept saying that PSNow was crap for renting games but now they´re going to love this as the good hypocrites they are.

Say it with me Real gamers.... Thank you based MS, for the gamers, by the gamers and all that jazz. :D

So basically Netflix for games? This is pretty fucking cool and a much smarter and better solution than PS Now

1. Its not a BC streaming service

2. Its not renting BC games

3. If you own those games...........you can still play them

4. This is more like EA Access

5. You dont have to pay to play games you already own.

6. You download, not stream.

Not remotely the same thing, but still useless to most gamers.

I've already outline the ways in which this is significantly better than PSNow

More options is always great.

Sony needs to put PS4 games on PSNow, drop the just streaming piece of it, incorporate backwards compatibility into the PS4 without a service and drop the price of PSNow to $10 a month and THEN will they PSNow be on the same level as this.

Competition will ALWAYS make things better. And whether Sony fans want to admit it or not, this is an excellent move by MS. Being need to stop defending Sony for everything they do and give credit to MS when they do something that is ACTUALLY for the gamers.

Not with this kind of crap that you'll get people excited for Scorpio, MS.

People crapped over PS now because it was a streaming service. This actually lets you download the game.

So.... Ps Now? Lems hate this, right?

See at least 5 posts above you that explain why it isn't remotely the same thing.

I said the same thing with PSNow, but It would be nice if as part of Xbox Live Gold, they gave us the option to either pick a month of XGP, or to have the months GWG titles.

@Chutebox: Lmao you're just as stupid as moogenja. Do you cows even read the OP? Dumbasses I swear,

@Chutebox: not a streaming service, cheaper and also offers current gen games so pretty much nothing like PS now

This sounds super good, gg Microsoft

Two very important fundamental differences:

• This does not rely on streaming
• This does not substitute consumer backward compatibility

Bruh, imagine if the games on this subscription service are required by MS to receive Scorpio upgrades. That'd be pretty dope, not for the developers, but for us.

The usual cows failing to understand basic English and getting owned left, right and centre.

Yowza, cows reking themselves these dayzzz...

Good stuff. :P

@primorandomguy: So this isn't a renting service?

Oh, this is rich. Yeah, it's completely different lol

@mems_1224: So an improved version of ps now?

@Chutebox: It is in a sense. But BC is still available, and it doesn't stream, like PS now. You download right to your Xbox One. No need to worry about bandwidth or streaming. It says this in the OP.

@primorandomguy: ok, so it is like ps now, just improved.

still don't have basic reading skills? that's bad man. gotta work on it.

In before the fanbase that tells us daily their network is magerifically better than PSN says that streaming would be a problem for them? lulz

Serious question for a second. You really don't see how the services are different?

Yes, and it offers current gen titles. Which titles is going to be the bigger question. If the titles are trash, then it won't be worth it. If they are legitimate AAA titles that are a few months old, then it's a great deal for gamers.

I didn't buy, nor am I planning on purchasing Halo Wars 2, but if I subscribe I wouldn't mind giving it a shot on a rainy day. You know?

We all sure needed another subscription service.

Cool service... If there were any games to actually put onto it.

I kid.

Pwetty gud.

That's actually a pretty sweet service for only $10 and since I'm an EA Origin member myself, I thing Xbox One gamers are gonna enjoy this Xbox Game Pass if your familiar with how EA does it.

Though I do however think Gold Members should get this for free at least.

Shew you can't be serious man. You don't see the benefit of download games vs. streaming, even if you do have the capability to stream a game well? Or how renting current gen games and having access to backwards compatibility for free is better than renting backwards compatibility?

@sHaDyCuBe321: ya, I gotcha. Don't really care about streaming for ps now, but library aND price is ridiculous. MS just showed them hoe it's done.

Nope, and the fact that people have to compare it by bringing up PS4s seeming lack of ability to run Cell Broadband Engine designed games or the Emotion Engine into this also tells me they don't see much of a difference either. For that matter, a budget of $120 a year would go a much longer way on Steam than picking from a paltry library of 100 games.

This is hilarious. Streaming doesn't make that big of a difference on PSNow, although I wouldn't play fighting games on it, and the assertion that this is miles better is hypocrisy.

sure. its ps now if everything about it was improved and made sense. no one is opposed to the idea that ps now tried to achieve, people were opposed to the half assed implementation.

I'm intrigued Microsoft. Tell us more.

Lol cows in this thread.

@mems_1224: dude you were here when ps now was announced. Cows loved it and most everyone else didnt

This is completely different... My god you really dislike Microsoft, don't you? Like navuguy21 said:

1. Its not a BC streaming service
2. Its not renting BC games
3. If you own those games...........you can still play them
4. This is more like EA Access
5. You dont have to pay to play games you already own.
6. You download, not stream.

And even more importantly. It contains Xbox One games. So not just last-gen games. It's really just like EA Access, so a Netflix for video games.

Good to see shrewgenja having another meltdown

REKT!!!! This is a pretty awesome deal and it is NOTHING like PSNow. NOTHING!

I think the main difference here is that its not mandatory if you want to play those games, nor does it change the fact that BC is still free on the console.

If you own a game.............you can play it.

This is like EA Access, not PSNow

yea because it has insane prices and is a shitty streaming service. if i could download ps3/psp games to my ps4/vita for $10 a month i would get that shit right now.