Microsoft today is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Xbox Game Pass, which has emerged as a major differentiator for its game platform.

“From the very outset, our goal with Xbox Game Pass has been to provide you with more value and choice by delivering a diverse library of games reflective of the long history of Xbox, as well as create new opportunities for our industry partners that make a positive impact,” Microsoft’s Ashley Speicher writes. “Thanks to you, this last year has been remarkable. We’ve been humbled by your enthusiasm and support.”

Microsoft notes the following milestones for Xbox Game Pass this past year.

• Xbox Game Pass is now supported in 40 markets around the globe.
• In response to fan requests for more AAA titles, Microsoft announced in January that all new Xbox games from Microsoft Studios would appear in Xbox Game Pass on the same day as their global launch.
• Two of those AAA launch title games, Sea of Thieves and State of Decay 2, are Xbox Play Anywhere titles that have performed particularly well. The former saw over 2 million players within its first week of release. And the latter hit one million in the same time frame.
• Game Pass members spend more time playing games than before. This includes games in the Game Pass catalog and other Xbox games outside the catalog as well, Microsoft says.

“We have a long-term commitment and belief in making subscriptions a model that benefits gamers with more choice and game creators with more opportunity,” Speicher concludes. “We will continue to invest in this space. We look forward to further evolving Xbox Game Pass by bringing even more great games in the year ahead to continue to meet the needs of gamers and game developers.”

As far as I’m concerned, Xbox Game Pass is one of the major advantages of the Xbox platform. And it’s getting interesting with more new Xbox Play Anywhere titles being added as well, opening up the service to those who wish to game on Windows 10 PCs as well.

Tagged with Xbox Game Pass