If you’re stuck for money and want to catch up on all the Xbox One games you might have missed over the past few years, it looks like Microsoft have your back with the Xbox Game Pass.
Featuring over 100 games at launch (Xbox One originals and backward compatible title), the service will cost $9.99 a month and will work very similarly to EA Access. The games aren’t streamed (unlike the seemingly doomed PlayStation Now), but will be added to a collection for you to dip into at your leisure.
The titles mentioned by Microsoft are strong enough to make it worth the price: Halo 5, NBA 2K16, and Payday 2 are included. The graphic accompanying the announcement hints at plenty more, including Fable and Mad Max, as well as some classic indie games.
It’s worth bearing in mind that all of the games won’t continually be available. Microsoft are going to be adding some new games and taking some away every month, but once you download the game or add it to your library, it will still be playable once its “shelf life” is up. It isn’t confirmed, but it’s doubtful that you will be able to keep playing them once your Game Pass is cancelled.
Xbox Live Gold members will also be able to preview the service before wide distribution.
Here are some of the excerpts of the post from Phil Spencer over on the Xbox website:
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 shade thrown at Sony here:
“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.”
On early access to the service:
“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.”
Xbox Game Pass will be launching this Spring. What do you think? I’m keen, but I’m going to have to look at my bank balance first – Amazon Prime, Netflix, EA Access, PlayStation Plus, WWE Network and Xbox Live all add up.
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
