How Xbox Game Pass Became the Subscription Service to Beat

ign.com:

Four years ago, between the announcement of Xbox Game Pass and its launch, Microsoft’s vision for the “Netflix of games” had yet to come into focus. Phil Spencer and team Xbox were clear in its direction, though public perception surrounding the game subscription service was muddier: What did Game Pass mean for consumers? Was it sustainable for developers? How would it affect the future of game ownership?

Now, coming up on the service’s fourth anniversary, public perception has cleared, and the verdict is near-universal: Xbox Game Pass has been heralded as a cost-effective, accessible alternative to traditional game purchasing for many players.

As Sony takes a bigger step into offering its own subscriptions with its “all-new PlayStation Plus” and Nintendo has tried its own hand at a similar service with some of the benefits of Nintendo Switch Online, we’re taking a look back at how Xbox Game Pass has evolved since its inception, from an unproven concept to the backbone of Microsoft’s gaming ambitions.

Microsoft originally envisioned Xbox Game Pass as a rental service. The project was known internally as Arches, though the concept would never make it to market in that form. Microsoft, seeing the success of other media streaming services like Netflix and Spotify, pivoted toward a subscription model, and thus Game Pass as we know it was born.

The pitch for Game Pass, passionately spearheaded by Xbox boss Phil Spencer, was met with resistance, as publishers expressed concern about devaluing their own products for Microsoft’s potential gain. Spencer saw things differently. His vision was both clear and, as time has proven, feasible: Game Pass was an opportunity for mutual growth, for Microsoft to expand its active user base on