Microsoft Launches Its Video Game Netflix With Xbox Game Pass
This week, Microsoft is opening up a new game service for the Xbox One that will allow users to play games from the Xbox library with nothing more than a monthly subscription.
Arriving in early access today for current Xbox Live Gold members, Xbox Game Pass will kick off with an offering more than 100 different games from the Xbox 360 and Xbox One catalogs. Gold subscribers will be able to try the service out for 14 days free of charge. A monthly subscription to the service will open on June 1 for $9.99/month, regardless of whether or not you subscribe to Xbox Live Gold or not.
While the PlayStation 4 does offer PlayStation Now as a streaming service, Xbox Game Pass actually allows you to download any of the games in the library, and play them at any time. As long as you maintain your subscription, you'll be able to access the games at any point. Even if you lapse for a month or two, you can always re-up and continue playing when you feel like locking back in for another month. You'll never have to worry about latency issues or buffering presentation since the games will live on your console just like any other downloaded game.
If you happen to like a certain game enough, you can even buy it directly from the Game Pass with a slight, exclusive discount. These prices will vary by game, so do your diligence in figuring out whether or not owning the game is worth more than the $10 subscription price. It's worth pointing out that unless specifically noted, none of the games will have their downloadable content as part of the offering, so you may need/want to purchase add-ons in addition to the core title.
With more games being added every month, it certainly seems like you won't ever run out of games to play, even if they are from the back catalog on the Xbox. If you're already a Gold subscriber, there's no reason not to give the 14-day trial a go to see if there's enough material there to work with. Beyond that, a $9.99 monthly fee isn't all that outrageous for the number of available games, even if you just want to check out one or two games you could likely finish in 30 days.