Microsoft Explains Why It Changed The Name Of Xbox Game Pass For PC

Microsoft recently changed the name "Xbox Game Pass for PC" to simply "PC Game Pass," and now the company has offered a little more insight into why it made the swap.

Microsoft's Jason Beaumont said in an interview with ROG Global that calling it "Xbox Game Pass for PC" was confusing some members of the audience who assumed they would need an Xbox. That was never the case, and the new naming convention should help make that more clear, Beaumont said. What's more, Microsoft was already referring to it internally as "PC Game Pass," so this also helped the company make the change.

"It's the same catalog of games. It's always a sign when everybody internally calls something one name, but then externally, you're calling it a different name [laughs]. So internally, we were always like, 'PC Game Pass,' then finally someone was like, 'Why don't we just call it that?'" Beaumont said.

Microsoft officially announced the name change with a whimsical skit at The Game Awards, which you can re-watch above.

"We were hearing a lot from gamers that they were like, 'Listen, people don't understand that Game Pass has PC games..." People thought they needed to have an Xbox, Beaumont said. But this is not the case.

"We had this user confusion so it was like, just change the name. Make it straightforward. So PC Game Pass it is," Beaumont said.

In other news, Xbox Game Pass is adding a big group of great games to kick off the new year, including Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Gorogoa, and Spelunky 2 this month alone.