Game Pass, Google Stadia, Playstation Now: The Netflix for games - is that the future?

Buying individually is out, all-inclusive is in. What has long been true of Netflix and Spotify also works for games. The prime example is the Game Pass from Microsoft: For a fixed monthly fee, you get a bulky portfolio that changes constantly and covers many genres.

The price-performance ratio of the Xbox Game Pass is unbeatable. For gamers with a tight wallet or a wide range of interests, there is no way around the subscription, which costs a slim 10 euros per month and can be canceled at any time. For three euros more there is even a Gold membership and the Game Pass for PC on top. In-house firecrackers such as Halo 5: Guardians, Forza Horizon 4 and Gears 5 are available for download free of charge, and permanently. Indie games, on the other hand, spin through, meaning that they only stay subscribed for a limited time. But that is usually a few weeks, so there is no hurry to gamble.

Patient natures will be just as happy: If you don't have to gamble every new title on the day of publication, many older games from larger publishers will also be delivered to your home for a while after their release. For example, there are currently Jump Force, eFootball PES 2020 and the famous A Plague Tale: Innocence in the Game Pass. And these are not demos with limited content, but the full versions. Microsoft's subscription is therefore unrivaled not only in terms of scope, but also quality and topicality.

But all of this has more than just advantages. While in the past days a title was often played through several times over a period of months, many today feel that they cannot keep up with the amount of gambling. So we carefully sort out and weigh what you want to spend your time with. Accordingly, manufacturers and developers are campaigning for the favor of customers. While giants such as EA or Activision mostly manage without problems due to fat marketing budgets, developers from the second or third row fight for every bit of attention for their games.

Nothing to give away

The Game Pass offers indie projects good opportunities in this regard. As part of the subscription, the titles get a certain amount of advertising. New additions are quickly recognizable for the players and thus on the radar. In addition, the wide range of offers invites you to try out genres that you would normally avoid. This is first class service for customers. But do the makers also earn money with it?

In October 2019, Agostino Simonetta, Lead of I (email protected) stated that the Game Pass would have actually boosted sales of some of the games it contained, The terms on which these cooperations take place remains a secret. A fixed amount per game (similar to Netflix) or a payment based on downloads (similar to Spotify) would be conceivable. Dino Patti, co-founder of Playdead (Limbo, Inside), sees the Game Pass as a fair business model for indies.

Sean Krankel, co-founder of Night School Studio (Oxenfree, afterparty), considers the Game Pass to be one of the best things that has happened to the gaming industry. In the specific case of afterparty, sales increased, although the title was already part of the Game Pass at the time of the release. Apparently, many players loved the game and didn't just want to borrow it, they actually wanted to own it.

(Email protected) Game Pass – X019 Amazing New Titles Trailer

In the Xbox Game Pass there will also be a number of new indie titles directly for the release via (email protected).

However, not every manufacturer and developer is so convinced. For example, Frederick Webster, ex-boss at Paradox Interactive, th inks the Game Pass model is good, but also sees room for improvement. He wants more money given the many hours people spend on their Europa Universalis IV title.

The orientation and scope of a title could also play a role in whether the Game Pass is worthwhile for a developer or not. Linear, rather short games could possibly be refinanced directly with a good payment from Microsoft. If you then add download purchases, you have done everything right. In contrast, open world games or strategy heavyweights could sell under value if a lot was played but little was paid. This seems to be a reason why the majority of new Game Pass entries come from the indie area and offer a rather manageable playing time.

For big fish like Assassin's Creed or FIFA, the Game Pass makes no sense anyway. These calibers sell millions of times via classic downloads or the retail market simply because of their name. However, their manufacturers are also jumping on the subscription train: Ubisoft Plus and EA Access also offer access to a game library for a monthly fee, which is limited to in-house titles, but still has a lot to offer.

Streaming is the next step

Regardless of whether it's a Game Pass or a classic purchase: In most cases, the software is downloaded to the hard drive. Game streaming has a niche existence, primarily for technical reasons. Because for the transmission to work smoothly, a stable internet connection with sufficient bandwidth is required.

If this is not guaranteed, there will be drops in the frame rate or delays in the control, because every input must be sent to the server, processed there and sent back again. Even single-player titles only run if there is an online connection. Due to the intergrown internet infrastructure, not only in Germany, game streaming across the board is still a dream of the future.

PlayStation Now – January 2020 New Games Trailer

These games await you on PlayStation Now from January 2020.

However, it is only a matter of time before it becomes established. Even graphically complex titles can be played on almost any smartphone, laptop or old carrot – regular and expensive PC upgrades for the best possible graphic quality are a thing of the past. There is a foretaste of these possibilities Google Stadia (for detailed test) already today, albeit with restrictions.

Sony's PlayStation Now has been allowing streaming to PS4 and PC for a long time. Some PS4 games can even be downloaded to be independent of internet fluctuations. With around 650 titles, the offer is gigantic. These mainly include older games that date back to the PS2 era. So the program is currently something for retro fans. However, more and more PS4 games are being added, so the appeal is gradually growing. In addition, PlayStation Now is extremely cheap with a price of 5 euros per month.

Next stop: PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X

With the beginning of the new console generation there will be further changes. The Xbox Game Pass remains and is growing. Microsoft bought several new studios, whose first-party games will be included in the subscription for the respective release. Until now, you always had to buy a game with a new console – this is no longer necessary. Microsoft is sure to include a free monthly game pass with the system, so that buyers have a stately library at their disposal. The previously announced downward compatibility is a bonus that should deliver more than enough software at launch.

A good mix of big exclusive titles like Halo: Infinite, fine independent productions and interesting games from previous Xbox generations could inspire many gamers and bind them to the platform in the long term. To this end, Project xCloud and Xbox Console Streaming are two separate services in the test phase, with which games can be streamed either directly from the cloud or from the console to mobile devices in a few years.

It remains to be seen whether Sony will counter this with a bored PS Plus or PlayStation Now offer. Despite the previous success with the PS4, the group will certainly not rest because the cards are shuffled at the beginning of each new generation of consoles. Some reaction seems likely to offer PS5 buyers a similar price-performance ratio.

Conclusion: where is the journey going?

It doesn't work without subscriptions. Microsoft has presented with the Game Pass and thus set the course to be able to compete with the current market leader Sony in the next generation of consoles again. With PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now, Sony again has two offers that would undoubtedly have what it takes to be a game pass alternative if the content is drilled out. In parallel, companies like Ubisoft and Electronic Arts are trying to bring their own subscription models to the players.

The situation should become even more comfortable for the latter. In the future, it will be even easier for them to pick the right content from a constantly growing portfolio. Short notice periods guarantee a high degree of flexibility and even if several memberships run in parallel, the account does not charge the account as much as buying a single game thanks to manageable costs.

Smaller developers and manufacturers will view the whole thing a little more skeptically. You should continue to weigh up the pros and cons of cooperation, depending on the financial incentives and the game. If the conditions are further improved or if the subscription providers even compete for the best indie titles, this could give many projects a boost. However, if more and more games strive to subscribe, Microsoft could also use its power and lower prices. To keep a chance at all, some would probably bite this sour apple.

In contrast, little will change in the behavior of the major manufacturers. FIFA, Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed or Grand Theft Auto have enormous traction and continue to generate their income from sales in stationary and digital retail – they do not need a game pass or the like. However, it is conceivable that the periods until the availability of these games will be shorter in the subscription. The titles would continue to be profitable via microtransactions, especially if a long-term games-as-a-service model is used.