Xbox Game Pass To Include Future Releases From Microsoft Studios At Launch!

Some huge news this morning from Major Nelson regarding Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription program.

The low-cost, play all you want subscription program currently features over 100 games, including hits like Halo 5, Gears of War 4, ReCore (that was a hit, right?) and many more, but beginning on March 20th, that subscription is about to get far more valuable.

Beginning with the launch of Sea of Thieves, Game Pass subscribers will be able to to play all upcoming Microsoft Studios releases on launch day. I’m not talking a 10-hour trial like with EA’s much cheaper Access subscription (as much as I appreciate those) – these are full releases.

This mean’s that subscribers will also have access to games like State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3 at launch, as well as other Microsoft Studios titles, like upcoming (unannounced) Halo and Gears of War games.

This is a pretty unbelievable move from Microsoft, and should certainly help to boost Game Pass subscriptions (by a buttload). To this point, I don’t know a single person that subscribed to the service. I know that at this point I’ll be cancelling my Sea of Thieves pre-order and subscribing to Game Pass instead.

What I’m really interested in seeing as well is how long it takes for previous Microsoft Studios titles to hit the service. I’ll be very excited to try Forza 7 on my new Xbox One X, but don’t love racing games enough to buy it at current its current cost. I could certainly see the company rolling older titles out slowly over time to keep subscribers, and to keep a good amount of Game Pass additions coming each month.

In any case, it was a service that I had little interest in, and they’ve just earned themselves a new subscriber. I’m sure many others are in the same boat.

Microsoft’s Phil Spencer notes that soon there’ll be another way to pick up Game Pass as well, stating that “Our fans have also asked for more choice in the subscription offerings available for Xbox Game Pass. As part of today’s library expansion, we are also pleased to announce that we are working closely with our retail partners, such as GameStop, to offer a 6-month Xbox Game Pass subscription card for those fans who look for a variety of ways to purchase and enjoy new games and services. The 6-month Xbox Game Pass subscription card will be available at select retail partners for $59.99 beginning March 20. By working closely with retail partners, Xbox Game Pass will have valuable ambassadors in popular destinations for gamers to discover new and exciting games and enjoy community.”

Will you be checking it out? Are you looking forward to Sea of Thieves? Sound out below!