Just weeks after Microsoft’s major Xbox Game Pass shakeup, a new report claims the company is mulling over a variety of additional subscription tiers in a bid to expand the service’s reach, including a tier offering access to the Game Pass catalogue exclusively via cloud gaming.
That’s according Windows Central’s Jez Corden who, in a lengthy article discussing Game Pass’ future, claims to have heard from sources that Microsoft’s is “working towards” a cloud-only version that would be “cheaper and more approachable” than Game Pass Ultimate.
The aim is said to be two-fold, with Microsoft hoping the tier will appeal to those put off by the upfront costs of a console, as well as to existing owners of competing consoles who don’t want to buy an Xbox but might find the Game Pass catalogue appealing. It’s reportedly also intending to monetise the cloud-only service further by offering digital ownership of individual games in its catalogue, should a user wish to buy something outright.
Furthermore, it seems Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family Plan experiment isn’t dead either, based on what Corden calls “very tentative” rumours. A version of the plan, which would enable five people to share access to Game Pass Ultimate at a significant discount, was trialled between September 2022 and August 2023, but it never progressed to a worldwide release. Additionally, Corden says one initiative Microsoft had previously hinted it was considering – an ad-based tier for Xbox Game Pass – isn’t something it’s “actively working towards” right now.
Talk of further expansions to Microsoft’s existing Xbox Game Pass tiers comes just two weeks after the company confirmed sweeping changes to its subscription service in the run-up to October’s launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. These changes included the removal of day one releases for its overhauled basic tier, plus price increases across the board.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has slammed Microsoft’s revised Game Pass tiers in a filing with the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, calling the new offering a “degraded product” and “exactly the sort of consumer harm from the [Activision Blizzard] merger the FTC has alleged”. In response, Microsoft told the court the FTC’s claims were “wrong” and “misleading”, insisting the agency “barely mentioned [concerns about] subscription[s] at trial”.
Away from the drama, Microsoft has announced a strong month of additions for Xbox Game Pass, with July bringing the likes of Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn , Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Flock, The Case of the Golden Idol, Neon White, and more.