Microsoft clearly has big plans for Xbox Game Pass. The subscription services has already become central to their plans in the last couple of years, and that’s going to be the case for a long time to come. In their bid to flood Game Pass with compelling content, on top of purchasing a plethora of first party studios, Microsoft have also been making moves to bring more third party content to the service’s catalog.
Recently, the entire EA Play library was made available to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers for free, while rumours have also suggested that a similar deal might also soon be solidified for Ubisoft’s Uplay + catalog. Speaking recently in the Xbox Two podcast, Jez Corden of Windows Central said that based on what he has heard, there have indeed been talks between Microsoft and Ubisoft for the same. What’s more, it’s not just Ubisoft that Microsoft have been in such discussions with.
“I’ve heard that yeah, there had been some kind of talk about a more pervasive partnership between Microsoft and Ubisoft for Game Pass, and not just Ubisoft either, other publishers as well,” Corden said.
Interestingly enough, he went on to say that Microsoft has actually gotten in touch with virtually every major publisher in the industry to bring their games to Xbox Game Pass, which suggests that the recent EA Play deal and the rumoured Uplay + deal might just be the beginning for the service.
“It’s not as much of a revelation as you might think, because Microsoft didn’t just get EA Play and think, ‘we’re going to stop there,'” Corden said. “They’re all-in on trying to get all publishers to bring their games to Game Pass.”
“It’s just not Ubisoft either, I’ve heard they’ve been talking to basically every major publisher, [it’s] just EA is the first one that bit,” he added. “EA is the first deal they locked down”
For what it’s worth, Microsoft have said that they remain open to adding more subscription services to the Xbox Game Pass catalog as add-ons in the future, and this, combined with the overall emphasis they’re putting on the service, would definitely fall in line with that. Either way, until such time something official is said, it’s best to take this with a grain of salt. Stay tuned though, and we’ll let you know should we learn anything more.
