Microsoft takes another step towards treating video games as a Netflix-like service, with CEO Satya Nadella confirming the equivalent of the Xbox Game Pass subscription is coming for PC gamers. Would you subscribe?
When Microsoft launched Xbox Game Pass in June 2017, it embraced the Netflix method of access to content. For a monthly subscription of $10, you can play hundreds of games, spread across the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Xbox libraries. New first-party games are automatically added for subscribers, and there’s no limit to access. If a game is available on Xbox Game Pass, you can play it as much as you like.
Now Microsoft is realizing the popularity of Xbox Game Pass can translate over to PC gaming. As Eurogamer reports, in the latest quarterly earnings call Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed that a version of Game Pass is heading to the PC.
Nadella pointed to Microsoft being “best-in-class” as game monetization and getting better at community support around games, with Minecraft being a key example. He went on to say that, “bringing Game Pass to even the PC” will continue to bolster community building while taking full advantage of Microsoft’s monetization system. In other words, Microsoft sees a big opportunity in subscription gaming on PC.
If you look at PC gaming as a whole, you can see there is a gap in the market for such a service. Steam is the market leader by a long way for offering access to PC games, but doesn’t have a subscription option. GOG is the same. EA offers Origin Access for $4.99 a month, which includes 75 EA games and some third-party titles. Clearly Microsoft could easily out perform EA with sheer number of games, but it seems likely the $10 subscription cost would remain the same.
For a PC Game Pass to work, Microsoft needs to hit the ground running. From launch it needs to have hundreds of games available, with a healthy selection of those being from third-parties. A road map of games being added to the subscription in future months would also bolster confidence and encourage more gamers to sign up.
What will be interesting to see is how other services react when Microsoft launches this subscription. Will Valve now consider an equivalent for Steam? Will EA enhance Origin Access? A few years from now will PC gamers all be subscribers because that’s become the norm?
