Xbox Game Pass has become a must-have service in the industry. Invented by Xbox, it was born in 2017 with unlimited access to a catalog of 100+ games. Since then, Xbox Game Studios titles have landed there from the day they were released and the service continues to expand. Electronic Arts is thus a partner of the platform, the Game Pass is available on the PC and cloud gaming is now possible. But above all the game pass should be a simple game rental. We were then in 2013!
Project Arches, the origins of Game Pass
During the presentation of the Xbox One, Microsoft is secretly working on new services. Underneath, The Arches concept moves many executives and has to make the American manufacturer a differentiating offer.
To provide the service, Xbox teams are turning to Rare. The British studio is actively working on experiments for Kinect, but is responsible for developing a flagship game for this new offering. Developers quickly identify multiplayer as an essential foundation for running Project Arches and begin laying the groundwork for future productions. There is no question of pirates …
Because yes, a few years later it will finally be baptized Sea of thieves and Project Arches becomes Xbox Game Pass. Between these two periods? A change of direction and a certain vision of video games. In 2013, the Xbox One made a terrible E3 and Don Matrick left the ship two months later. The previous head of the Xbox division will be replaced at short notice by Phil Spencer, who will quickly find new potential in Arches.
Convince third parties
Phil Spencer is actually convincing his teams to turn game rental into an on-demand game service. A monthly paid package that gives you access to a catalog of games that can be played without a time limit. And of course, Xbox turns to third-party providers to fuel the latter. However, some are not very receptive and believe that the Game Pass carries risks “Devalue games”
We now know the rest of the story. The commitment far exceeded expectations and Microsoft quickly made service the core of its strategy. Right through to the inclusion of games produced by Xbox Game Studios as soon as they are released, starting with Sea of Thieves. And Craig Duncan, director of Rare, recalled asking this question:
“If everyone is playing Sea Of Thieves on Game Pass and we don’t sell a single copy, is that okay with you?”
And Phil Spencer answers: “Necessarily.”
Today, the Xbox Game Pass is more anchored in Microsoft’s offering than ever. The service is already workable and offers surprising statistics. Thus, subscribers to the service spend on average 50% more than non-subscribers and play a lot more than others. Enough to achieve record results with in-house productions, such as Sea of thieves and its 25 million players or Forza Horizon 5 and its already 8 million pilots.
