13 December 2023 , 12:00
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Following the launch of Xbox Game Pass Core earlier this year, an even more value-driven tier might be coming to the service soon.
The Netflix-ification of video games appears poised to continue – at least on Xbox Series X|S. That’s if recent comments from Xbox’s chief financial officer, Tim Stuart, are to be believed, after he floated the idea of introducing a new, free tier to its subscription service. In this potential future, Xbox players wouldn’t need to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass at all providing they are willing to put up with advertisements in some shape or form.
As reported by TweakTown, it was at the Wells Fargo TMT Summit where Stuart reinforced the platform’s sentiment to get Xbox Game Pass running on every device with a screen. “Maybe places that aren't console-first, you can say, 'hey, do you want to watch 30 seconds of an ad and then get two hours of game streaming?',” he said. The intention is to supposedly target territories like Africa and Southeast Asia, where audiences don’t have “a lot of high-end disposable income” due to their age.
If a free tier of Xbox Game Pass with ads powered by Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming does come to fruition, you can bet that it’ll eventually make its way to other locations around the world including the USA and UK once the model is proven. Already this year we’ve seen Xbox Game Pass target those without much disposable income in the form of Xbox Game Pass Core which rolled out in September, and reduces the monthly cost of a subscription by lowering the game count to 100+ to just 25.
Ad addict
While it’s true that Xbox Game Pass is incredible value, giving players access to hundreds of games they otherwise wouldn’t likely check out for just a fraction of the cost, it’s tough seeing video games treated as a commodity in this way. I’m not even saying that Microsoft is necessarily wrong to experiment with how its subscription operates, but it proves how far removed we are from the days when you paid for a new game and the transaction anywhere.
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Running adverts between games is a solid idea on Microsoft’s side because it’s a way to make money without passing the cost onto the consumer. However, just how many ads would Xbox players be willing to put up with, I wonder, and where would the platform even place them in a way that wouldn’t make them a hindrance to the game players are trying to enjoy. If a free Xbox Game Pass tier does get introduced, these are issues that will need solving.