With the potential acquisition of Activision Blizzard King by Microsoft, Xbox Game Pass could get to offer some very high-caliber games such as Call of Duty and Diablo within its catalog. According to Sarah Bond, Corporate VP of Xbox, the true value of Game Pass it’s not defined by a single acquisition or a couple of top-tier games, but by the depth and breadth of the catalogue as a whole.
“We’ve been very clear about our commitment to getting our catalog of first-party games released on Game Pass at launch. We know people love that, but it’s also related to the variety of content. This is not a single acquisition. It’s all about the depth and breadth of the catalogue, from great triple-A games to indie titles and hidden gems. That’s what makes Game Pass so valuable,” he said Bond in an interview with the Rolling Stones.
Bond also talked about the way Game Pass influences the development of gamesstating, “Game Pass is an option for developers. One thing we talk about a lot internally, but have made an effort to share more externally, is that the business model associated with a game has an endemic link to the nature of the gameplay. We invest a lot of time on how to introduce a greater variety of business models, how to create more options. We talk a lot about Game Pass because the subscription is the newest way to access games that we have approached: there is it’s pay-to-play, then there was free-to-play, and finally we introduced Game Pass.”
“We talked about how we are experimenting with other models, for example what does it mean for advertising in games, which is more prevalent in mobile: are there models that work well in PC and consoles? Are there other models that feature timed games and stuff like that? Providing creators with options and choices allows them to experiment and do what they want, and to create more engaging and creative experiences without having to settle into a single format.”
Bond also commented on the combination of announcement and immediate publication used for Hi-Fi Rushwith more than positive results. However, this does not mean that it will be repeated any time soon: Xbox Game Studios will continue with its “we judge on a case by case” policy.
As for May 2023, however, 6 games are already confirmed for Xbox Game Pass.
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