Xbox All Access

What started as a leak last week has now been confirmed on the Microsoft Store. This new service is known as Xbox All Access. Potential Xbox One gamers can now avail of a subscription service that functions in a similar manner to mobile phone contracts. For a monthly fee, with no upfront cost, gamers can get either an Xbox One X or S, 24 months Xbox Live, and 24 months Xbox Game Pass. That means you can get a new Xbox One without the initial pain of forking over 400 beans.

Bear in mind Xbox All Access is currently only available in the US, for a short period. The payment plans work thusly:

For $34.99 customers get:

• An Xbox One X console
• 24 months Xbox Game Pass
• 24 Months Xbox Live
• 0% APR
• No upfront cost

For $21.99 customers get:

• An Xbox One S console
• 24 months Xbox Game Pass
• 24 Months Xbox Live
• 0% APR
• No upfront cost

The total cost of the One X package will run to $840. That may seem a lot, but doing the math, the console at $400, the two subscriptions currently at $10 per month each, recurring, it works out roughly the same.

The total cost of the One S package will be $528, which actually seems to be less than the total cost of the standard deal. Xbox Game Pass currently has over a hundred games to play. Meanwhile Xbox Live are still offering up their two monthly free games. Essentially this means Xbox All Access is offering up a solid library of games to cover the monthly cost. If you’re not the type of gamer who needs to snap up the newest releases as they drop, this could appeal to you even more.

For a limited time, in store only

Get a new Xbox One console, over 100 games with Xbox Game Pass, and online multiplayer with Xbox Live Gold—all with no upfront cost and one low monthly price for 24 months.^ While supplies last.

 – The Official Store spiel

The main consideration here is Microsoft taking the sting out of buying a new console. The fact is most mobile phone customers buy their new phones on a subscription service similar to this. From a business standpoint, this model is certainly not new, except for the games industry. Microsoft is merely testing the murky waters of the console market. Again, they have said in a statement that the Xbox All Access offer is for a limited time only, and exclusive to the US.

You can check out the official Xbox All Access store front here. If we’re talking what to make of this revelation, it does seem like a great idea. As it stands, every single service on the planet is turning into a paid monthly subscription, so why not games consoles? If Microsoft get the reaction they want, have no doubt this service will go live globally. GamEir.