Here’s something we weren’t expecting, Xbox have announced a Netflix style on-demand subscription for Xbox One featuring the best of Xbox One and backward compatible Xbox 360 titles.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Over 100 titles will be available at launch for Xbox Game Pass including Fable III, Halo 5 Guardians, Gears of War Ultimate Edition, Saints Row IV, Mad Max and more.
- Titles will stay for a limited time, you can play offline for 30 days.
- These aren’t streamed to your console, you’ll download them so a hefty hard-drive is recommended!
- You won’t need Xbox Live Gold but you won’t own the game either, you’ll get a chance to buy it if you like it at 20% off. All DLC will be 10% off.
- Xbox Game Pass will launch in late Spring and should be coming to Ireland (launching in 27 countries initially). Initial pricing is $9.99 so we’d assume it’ll translate to €9.99 in Ireland.
- You can find the full details here.
What do you think of Xbox Game Pass? Does it compare to PlayStation Plus’ offering? Let us know in the comments below.
You can read Phil Spencer’s press-release below:
At Xbox, we put gamers at the center of everything we do and remain committed to giving you the freedom to play the games you want, with the friends you want, on the devices you want. This year is shaping up to be an exciting one for gamers. As we prepare to launch Project Scorpio this holiday, bringing the most powerful console ever made to the Xbox One family of devices, we continue to make platform improvements to connect the growing community of players on Xbox Live and add to a robust and diverse portfolio of games across Xbox One and Windows 10.
Today, we’re continuing our commitment to give you more options to diversify and expand your library of games with Xbox Game Pass, a new gaming subscription service coming later this spring. Xbox Game Pass gives you unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and backward compatible Xbox 360 games – all for $9.99 per month.
With great games from top industry publishers such as 2K, 505 Games, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Capcom, Codemasters, Deep Silver, Focus Home Interactive, SEGA, SNK CORPORATION, THQ Nordic GmbH, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Microsoft Studios, there’s something for everyone to enjoy and you will always find something exciting to play across a variety of genres. Some of the fan-favorite titles coming to Xbox Game Pass when it launches to the broader Xbox community later this spring include Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16 and SoulCalibur II.
One of the best things about Xbox Game Pass is that you can discover and download the full titles directly on your Xbox One. That means continuous, full-fidelity gameplay without having to worry about streaming, bandwidth or connectivity issues. In addition, all Xbox One games in the catalog – and related add-ons – will be available to purchase at an exclusive discount for Xbox Game Pass members, so you can make the games you love part of your permanent library to play whenever you want. Every month new games will cycle into the subscription with some cycling out, giving you a constantly-updating library of games. Xbox Game Pass is your ticket to endless play.
It’s important to us that Xbox Game Pass provides an enjoyable and seamless experience. Before the program rolls out to the broader community later this spring, we’ll be testing Xbox Game Pass with select members of the Xbox Insider Program in the Alpha Preview ring starting today with a very limited number of titles. The titles that are available in Preview are just a small glimpse at the expansive catalog of games that will be available when Xbox Game Pass launches this spring. Xbox Live Gold members will also be receiving exclusive access to Xbox Game Pass prior to the program launching to the broader community. We’ll have more details on timing closer to launch.
We hope you enjoy Xbox Game Pass and all that it has to offer. We’re looking forward to hearing the feedback from the gamers in the Xbox Insider Program and then from the rest of the Xbox community when it’s broadly available later this spring. Your feedback will make this program better for all gamers.
Thank you for your continued passion and support of Xbox.
