Xbox Game Pass (Xbox / PC)

[Neon Ignition]

I'm the opposite with Game Pass. I bought every Horizon but will now never pay a penny for one again. Setting aside there's no need for me to pay for Game Pass thanks to Reward and the slow games output of MS, being able to use Game Pass has negated any need to pay for the games as there's zero gained for the additional outlay. Tbh, presumably most of those games sold are for the non-GP users which still make up the majority of Xbox players.

[eastyy]

See with game pass you get the basic game and none of the dlc (usually) if you really really like the game and buy the dlc i can imagine then buying the main game after

[Brad]

Horses for courses. Different folk etc. I’m not interested in something like gamepass at all. I don’t play multiple games at once so it would annoy me that I was paying a fee to access loads of games I’m not playing. Also I wouldn’t want to be restricted to playing only what gamepass says I can play. I have tried it in the past and ended up playing state of decay 2 quite a bit but in my head it was stressing me out because I knew I didn’t own that game. The service in some ways seems like a replacement for the free demos we used to get (on all platforms) except now we’re paying for it.

If you are someone with a lot of free time for gaming then gamepass is obviously utterly fantastic though and guess there are a lot of people who fit that bill!

My other concern is how this affects the game industry as a whole. One dev saying they reckon they’re selling more because of gamepass doesn’t speak for the whole industry. I wonder if for every dev like that there’s another dev who doesn’t get offered a good deal by Microsoft, chooses not to go on gamepass and their game simply gets passed by (I have no evidence of this).

[nonny]

It's not free demos though is it, it's the whole game. It's just it you choose to sample several games you can, and if you want to buy that game you can (at a discount) or you can just play it in full on the service while it's part of it.

I've honestly tried more genres and more games in general with game pass. Instead of feeling a bit pressured to pick 1-2 games at full price I can try a load of them and just see which ones grab me.

I've actually enjoyed gaming more because of game pass especially where indie games are concerned. You kinda know going in what Gears Tactics is going to be but I've played games like Abzu, Thomas Was Alone, Among Us, The Gardens Between, Donut County and my favourite Lonely Mountains Downhill... Games I would probably not have given a second look at otherwise. This in-between playing some bigger titles... Doom, Control etc...

I understand that everyone consumes games different. Not just digital versus physical but across genre and simply how they like to spend their time. So I don't think game pass is for everyone but for that reason I think MS was really smart because all the other methods of consuming these same titles still exist.

[Brad]

I said in some ways it feels like a replacement for the free demos. Like I feel like we used to get demos of most games but that seems to have dried up and been replaced with EA Play,game pass etc. So to demo a game now you have to subscribe.

[nonny]

I think it's because it's too hard to release a demo these days so instead they push out a beta where the code is still in preview. Outriders did do a demo earlier this month now I think of it.

I take your point though. I don't think I've seen really good self contained demos since the last generation.

[Brad]

I'm just cynical. I feel like board members said "why are we letting people play bits of our game for free!? Can't we monetise that?"

Like I say, cynical.

[nonny]

I'm just cynical. I feel like board members said "why are we letting people play bits of our game for free!? Can't we monetise that?"

Like I say, cynical.

Lol... It's a pity there aren't more demos but I think they're a double edged sword for developers depending on how well it represents the final game.

I'm playing Outriders right now for instance and the final game is noticeably better than the demo. The demo only showed the first area and 6-7 levels of the character but that just happens to be the weakest part of the game.

I think the game preview thing is worse to be honest. I'm more cynical of that approach because usually there's a (cheap) entry fee, the game is usually rough and barebones plus you're essentially play testing it for them.

[nonny]

Current rumour reported by ign is that Battlefield 6 may be going into game pass day one...

[Neon Ignition]

Would be a huge catch for Game Pass and a lifeblood for BF6's userbase but also a pretty damning indictment of how damaged the franchise is at this point. To be honest, even the prospect of playing it for free doesn't excite me after the wreckage of BF1 and BF5.

[MartyG]

Current rumour reported by ign is that Battlefield 6 may be going into game pass day one...

Might they not be getting some mixed wires in that it'll go in as part of the Origin Access 10 hours experience of the full game? All of EA's own published new releases got this on the old system, before it became part of Game Pass.

[nonny]

Dunno mate. There was a rumour a big FPS title maybe going in so I think this is actually a possibility, particularly given battlefield 1 and 5 didn't do that great compared to the previous iterations.

I love the series so I'd be chuffed if this was true but now you've mentioned the trial stuff through EA play I guess there is a chance it's no quite the same thing.

[Neon Ignition]

It's totally going to end up being a confusion in the speculation from pre-buyout and end up just being Wolfenstein 3

[Neon Ignition]

I've just realised I'm up to 4 and a half months of Game Pass accrued in points so I might use the fortnight to try Outriders and go through GTAV for the bazllionth time and... fourth format?

[nonny]

Outriders is great fun. I'm up to level 16 in it and really enjoying it.

Destiny it ain't, more Gears with loot.