Game Pass Could Be Big Next Gen

A lot of people are of the opinion that Game Pass is not good for gaming. However, I am of a differing opinion because what is clear to me is that the lack of innovation in games is more of a threat. You could also say that the spiraling out of control cost of developing games is also one. It’s a turning point in an industry that is having to think more and more about where it’s heading and how it makes games.

PlayStation is incredibly successful, and its games are of high quality. There are no reservations from me about that. However, the problem with this generation is we’ve only seen 15 and a lack thereof of creativity throughout their established studios, with the exception of the wonderful Astro Bot.

With all that being said, you’re probably wondering where Game Pass comes into all of this? Well, a lot more people are buying less and less games. New IP is not being bought, and games are failing because of it. That means there is substantial cost and pressure being put on developers to make their games critically successful.

The hate that Game Pass gets is pretty insane, really. It’s come to the point now where the next generation will be big for the service. Why? Because with less and less buying games but having the choice to purchase games outright if they wish. Microsoft’s Xbox is only the real platform that allows you to do this, as well as PC, and Game Pass could be a key instrument in this. Microsoft are also the only ones that can financially support this way of consumption on the basis of metrics of playing.

The important thing for Xbox is people are playing their games. Game Pass is a service that, at this moment, is probably the most accessible access to an array of new content at the lowest price that there ever has been. Some will be of the opinion that this comes at a cost in quality. However, if you look at the lineup of Game Pass this year alone and the great previews coming out, it is really a promising sign that, actually, Game Pass does have a place even if some do not consume as many games as they used to.

Ultimately, what we’re seeing is a sea of change in the gaming industry. Where a service like this next generation could be absolutely vital for new IP and where Xbox could have a real ace up their sleeves if the service is utilised well enough to take advantage of that.

I’ve spoken before about how Gen Z and Gen Alpha will be playing games very differently in the future. If you go back to an article I wrote about how handheld gaming could be an incredibly big thing for Xbox. Game Pass will drive that also, in my opinion, for Xbox.

Time will tell; however, for all the doom mongering lately, it certainly is not game over for Xbox by any stretch of the imagination. Hardware is only a metric on a narrative that actually has a much bigger story and picture to it.