Xbox Game Pass may explore cheaper options to serve a wider audience

Xbox Game Pass has become more and more integral to Microsoft’s gaming business plan since its inception in 2017, with the video game subscription service boasting over 18 million subscribers as of January as well as the news that Game Pass subscribers spent 30% more time playing games and spent 20% more on games in general back in March.

Although the service is already an equitable deal at a price point of $9.99, including all Xbox Game Studios games at launch and library access to over 100 other games, Xbox Corporate Vice President and Gaming Engineering boss Elizabeth Hamren said that Xbox Game pass may explore cheaper options to serve a wider audience in the future.

“We need to innovate to bring our games and services to more people around the world. And we’re investigating how to introduce new subscription offerings for Xbox Game Pass,” Hamren said in a video presentation to the media and shareholders.

“The point is that we’re being creative and dynamic in thinking about how to deliver the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet across devices, geographies, and financial realities.”

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Hamren reiterated that Game Pass subscribers spent more time playing games and spent more on gaming in general. “We’re doing all this because Game Pass works. It works for consumers, and it works for publishers. With Game Pass, players spend 20 percent more time playing games. They play 30 percent more genres and play 40 percent more games overall, including games outside their Game Pass subscription.”

Further enticement for Xbox Game Pass subscriptions lies in the wake of the Microsoft acquisition of ZeniMax, with Xbox head Phil Spencer mentioning that Bethesda games would be exclusive to platforms where Game Pass exists in the future.

Are you currently subscribed to Xbox Game Pass? Does the fact that Xbox Game Pass may explore cheaper options to serve a wider audience interest you or would it potentially make you purchase a Game Pass subscription where you wouldn’t have in the past? We’re interested to see what the potentially different tiers of Xbox Game Pass could offer ourselves.