Microsoft is reportedly planning a substantial overhaul of Xbox Game Pass that would allow subscribers to choose the features they want à la carte. The report comes from a new Fortune profile article on Xbox CEO Asha Sharma.
“Xbox is planning a major overhaul of Game Pass that would allow players to choose features a la carte,” Fortune wrote, “including add-ons for console-only gaming, cloud gaming and multiplayer, with the system operating on a tiered structure, according to people familiar with the strategy.”
The article looks at Xbox’s controversial purchase of subscription games, noting the challenges the service faced internally: “Game Pass, a monthly Netflix-style gaming service, helped Xbox build a subscription business. But it also led to a cannibalization of sales for the company’s more expensive first-party game titles, especially during the critical launch period.
The Fortune article also touches on a next-gen Xbox handheld as well as the next-gen Project Helix console, suggesting that, as rumored, it won’t be cheap – unless Microsoft chooses to subsidize some of the costs.
A Game Pass overhaul would be just the latest in a series of bold moves from Sharma, who has been on the job for barely six months and has already slashed the price of Game Pass Ultimate, signed off on Hideo Kojima’s next-gen Metal Gear Solid spiritual successor project Physint, launched two new verticals within Xbox, and handed Halo development over to Activision, to name a few. She even found time to personally respond to customer support tickets and check out the latest version of The Elder Scrolls 6.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s senior preview editor and host of IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Unblocked Podcastand co-host of Next generation console watch. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor’s ham”, not “pork roll”. Debate with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
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