Xbox Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass are video game subscription services provided by Microsoft. It originally launched on June 1 2017 but people subscribed to Xbox Live Gold received priority and gained access to the service on May 24. Xbox Game Pass provides the subscription service for the Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X as well as iOS, iPadOS and Android using Xbox Cloud Gaming while PC Game Pass is available on PCs using Windows 10, Windows 11 or MacOS with support for Xbox Cloud Gaming.

History

The idea of what became Game Pass came from two areas. First was with Phil Spencer becoming the head of the xbox brand, replacing Don Mattrick following the troubled launch of the Xbox One. Mattrick positioned the Xbox One as an entertainment hub rather than a games console and certain design choices had to be changed following negative criticism of the positioning by consumers and the media. After Spencer took over the Xbox brand, he recognized the Xbox needed a better position as they planned for the next generation of the console, while giving the team more encourage with his new ideas, even if they were risky.