Xbox Game Pass Has "Millions" Of Subscribers

Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft's Xbox One subscription service that lets you play more than 100 games for a monthly fee, is doing really well, it seems. Xbox boss Phil Spencer told LevelUp that the program already has "millions" of subscribers following its public release in June 2017.

"We are seeing incredible growth with Xbox Game Pass. We have millions of subscribers of Game Pass today," Spencer said in the interview.

Xbox Game Pass has been referred to as the "Netflix of Games," but that's exactly the best description. Netflix is a streaming service, while Xbox Game Pass titles require a download. In that way, Xbox Game Pass is more similar in structure and setup to EA Access, the subscription service from EA that gives people access to a "Vault" of games as part of a monthly or yearly subscription fee. Sony has its PlayStation Now service, which allows players to stream a catalog of games for a monthly fee; the option to download was recently added.

Microsoft is working on a game-streaming service currently called Project xCloud, while EA is also working on a streaming service of its own. Microsoft (and EA for its part) have not yet announced the specifics of its streaming service, so we don't yet what a subscription price or game availability may be at this stage.

Whatever the case, Spencer said Xbox Game Pass is merely an option for players who want it. Buying games individually is a perfectly fine way to play, and he mentioned that individual game sales are doing well for Xbox right now. Xbox Game Pass costs $10/month (though there is a $1 introductory offer going on now), and as long as your subscription is active you can download and play any of the more than 100 titles available in the catalog. The library includes Xbox One games like Sea of Thieves, Halo 5, and Forza Horizon 4, as well as numerous third-party games like Rocket League and backwards-compatible Xbox 360 games. In fact, all upcoming Microsoft games will launch in the Xbox Game Pass library, which means next year's Gears 5 and the upcoming Halo Infinite will be free for subscribers.

Earlier this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella teased that Xbox Game Pass could come to PC sometime down the road, and that's an exciting prospect to think about. For Spencer, he said Xbox Game Pass is great because it helps introduces players to games and different genres they might not have otherwise engaged with.

"People in Game Pass are playing more games than they did before they were a Game Pass subscriber," Spencer said. "Maybe you say, 'Duh, they have all these games, [so] they're going to play more games.' But they are playing genres of games that they didn't play before because it's easy to try them out. When one genre, or one type of game, becomes what everybody is doing, that's not the most healthy thing for creativity."

Also in the interview, Spencer said some of the games in the Xbox Game Pass library are seeing a "huge uplift" in player figures.

Do you enjoy subscription services like Xbox Game Pass, EA Access, or PlayStation Now? Let us know in the comments below!