At this point, I think everyone knows that Microsoft has pivoted to a subscription service model for their gaming business with Xbox Game Pass. While there will always be discussion about what the long-term future looks like for it, either way, Microsoft is all in. The service has continued getting games at steady pace, including even full day 1 releases, and they are not shy about wanting it everywhere and anywhere.
In a new interview at GamesRadar, Xbox’s Phil Spencer talked openly about that desire. When asked about the potential of release Game Pass in some form on other on competitor’s store, he said there was no plans to do so, but not because of a lack of interest on Microsoft’s part. He openly spoke about the ultimate goal of getting Game Pass on everything possible, implying the reason it wasn’t a thing yet was due to desire to continue with closed store ecosystems and not wanting the ‘disruption’ of Game Pass.
“You know, it’s the right question because people usually ask me about releasing one individual game or another. And what I say is I want the full Xbox experience to be something that we deliver. We have no plans to bring [the Xbox App] to any other kind of closed platforms right now, mainly because those closed platforms don’t want something like Xbox Game Pass. There’s a ton of open platforms out there for us to grow in: the web, PC, and mobile. So all of our focus, frankly, is on those platforms.
“That’s not a slam on anybody else who has a system that works for them. I can see why the disruption of Game Pass is not something that they want right now. In the end, when we say we want everybody to be able to play on Xbox, we really mean if we can bring that full experience to a device that players want, we are totally open to those discussions.”
It’s not a huge surprise as it seems the natural evolution of a service like Game Pass. Could it be that one day we will see Xbox Game Pass on a Sony or Nintendo system? Even with Microsoft becoming a more open platform with Game Pass now being on PC and streaming, it can be hard to imagine, but it feels like we’re probably heading that way in one way or another.