Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft have announced that their gaming subscription service will launch on PC sometime in the near future. Xbox Game Pass is currently available for €9.99 per month on the console family. Subscribers gain access to over a hundred games to download and play, including all major first party Microsoft releases. Thus far, big games like Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon 4 have been released on Game Pass on day one. Details are in short supply about the PC Game Pass, but Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was happy to announce the plans this week. The company’s Fiscal Year Quarter 1(FYQ1) 2019 earnings conference call was held on Wednesday.

“Bringing Game Pass to even the PC is going to be a big element of [increasing the strength of our gaming community],” – CEO Satya Nadella

The man in charge gave no information on how the service might incorporate PC gaming. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced their new All Access program, which we reported on recently.

Xponential Growth

Also coming out of this financial brief, were the figures for last years Xbox sales. Turns out that Xbox console sales are up a whopping 94% year on year for FYQ1 2018. Compounded to that is total gaming revenue growing by an impressive 44% year on year. Active Xbox Live user figures rose to 57 million, up from 54, and subscription services in total rose 37%. “What the hell does all that mean!?”, you may ask. Well, it means gaming brings in about 2.7 billion dollars for Microsoft. This past years strong growth, of course, was bolstered by the release of the Xbox One X in November 2017. A point to note here: Microsoft’s total revenue, including gaming, for Fiscal Year Q1 2019 was around 29 billion dollars(!).

Keep it in the (Xbox) family…

The Xbox is in the strongest position of its existence at the minute. The lacklustre start to its life has faded to memory, and this growth is a sign of that. At present, players can enjoy Xbox games on the Xbox One, Xbox One S and the One X. They can use Play Anywhere to play on PC, and Games Pass to access over a hundred titles for Xbox. The newest addition to the family, All Access, has been well received, and gives non Xbox owners a way into the market. Watch as Microsoft keep gradually growing their share of the gaming market, with the PC and Xbox markets ever merging together.

And, roughly related to this article, here’s Vin Diesel, playing Forza Horizon 4. GamEir.