As I write this there is a lot of Game Pass drama! I love Xbox, I have already looked at My Top 5 Xbox 360 games and I talked about how much I loved the original Xbox when I talked about Doom 3 on the original Xbox. Game Pass was a game changer, the best deal in gaming, if you had an Xbox One when it started or if you have an Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X now, there was no reason not to have Game Pass in my opinion. You play two day one full price games in a year and the service has paid for itself.
I have always been a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber and always felt that the value for money was great. Are there months where not many new titles I am interested in are added? Of course, there is, but the amount of games I have tried and loved or at the other end of the spectrum, tried and did not like and thus avoided spending money on them is massive. I have discovered so many great games thanks to this service, discovered indie developers I would have never known existed, and even tried genres of games that I would never have before.
Xbox did something truly good for gamers with Game Pass and after the mess that was the launch of the Xbox One. Game Pass felt like a service that was made for the benefit of gamers, but over the last few weeks especially, there have been a lot of grumblings about Game Pass. Look, everything is going up and it sucks, I swear my weekly grocery shop just keeps going up and up and I know for a fact I am not eating any more or better food! Streaming services have been steadily going up or adding ads and I had a feeling it was just a matter of time before Game Pass would see a price increase. The problem here is the way that it has all come about.
It does seem a little convenient that Game Pass is going up after the Activision deal has all gone through and after Call of Duty Black Ops 6 was announced as coming to Game Pass on day one. Yet, things go up, I get that, but it is the confusing mess of different tiers in addition to this price increase that has gotten a lot of people mad. Those who were on the base version of Game Pass especially are getting taken for a ride here, paying more and getting far less than they have been as they if what is being said actually happens, will lose access to certain day one releases! It was all smiles when Black Ops 6 was announced as coming to Game Pass, Xbox was the good guys for doing this, but they surely had to have known then that this was coming! You announce a massive game like Black Ops 6 as being part of your groundbreaking great value Game Pass service, but then change the goalposts a few months out? It may sound harsh, but it is a bit of a scumbag move.
If you are not someone who plays a ton of games on Game Pass, you may be thinking, now is the time to cut the cord. The thing is, if a lot of people ditch Game Pass once the price increase takes place and then quickly discover, they do not feel like they are missing anything, will Xbox be able to get these people back? They are running a big risk of a decent chunk of their paying customer base walking away here. For me, I play enough on Game Pass to keep my Game Pass Ultimate subscription going, but I will admit, even though I have had a thought or two about it, perhaps this is where it is time for me to quit. The thing is, I only use my Xbox Series X for Game Pass gaming! If I no longer have Game Pass, what do I need an Xbox for? I surely cannot be the only gamer who only uses their Xbox for Game Pass.
What are your thoughts on the coming changes for Game Pass? I would love to know if you plan to stick with it or is this price increase and confusing tier system where you bow out?
