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Microsoft plans to bundle all of its gaming services into one neat package. Project xCloud, Xbox LIVE Gold and Game Pass game streaming will be combined into one penultimate game subscription.
Today Microsoft confirmed something we have long expressed in our coverage: Project xCloud is an extension of Xbox Game Pass. In a move that’s pretty cool (but also pretty logical), the company plans to unionize the two services into a single subscription. “Later this year, our cloud gaming streaming technology, Project xCloud, is coming to Game Pass, so you and your friends can stream and play the games you love together on your devices,“Microsoft’s Phil Spencer said in a recent stain publication.
This one-and-two combo is a knockout for Microsoft’s billion dollar service empire. Game Pass is already conquering with over 10 million subscribers to date (recent $ 1 promotions helped increase those numbers) along with a massive 90 million Xbox LIVE user base (not everyone is paying for Gold subscribers, and PC integration helps too.) This is normal for the Microsoft course.
These services thrive on synergy – all of their disparate parts combine organically to generate engagement through social gaming, online content, and a new type of distribution model for everything you can play. Game Pass has many games with online mechanisms, which require Xbox LIVE Gold. Once players buy gold, they are more invested in the ecosystem. The more they play, the more social they become and the more “sticky” they become in the Xbox service marketplace.
Project xCloud is basically the streaming counterpart to Game Pass. It is a way to access games without having a console or a PC. xCloud is the yin for the Game Pass yang, and it’s only natural that the two go together. xCloud is the most accessible entry point to this service ecosystem and will be an invaluable tool in reaching millions of consumers who do not have dedicated gaming hardware.
Project xCloud is basically a virtual console that can not only stream titles available on Game Pass from remote services, but also games that you have purchased digitally. It is a characteristic that almost kills Google’s streaming platform Stadia.
Microsoft has not officially confirmed a new subscription plan included, but xCloud should be a new subscription level for Game Pass. Like all Xbox services, xCloud must also be sold separately as its own monthly subscription plan.
