In a new interview with Variety, Xbox exec Matt Booty has been discussing lots of Microsoft's recent gaming business, including the team's big summer showcase earlier this month. Naturally, the conversation also moved towards Xbox's new strategy with multiplatform releases, and how that strategy shift is going so far.
As you'd probably expect, they're quite happy with how things are performing so far - especially Rare's Sea Of Thieves, which the team "have been really pleased" about. Early reviews for the PS5 version of Xbox's pirate adventure were very good, and the game has since stormed the PlayStation charts, resulting in a big player boost across all platforms.
Moving on from SoT for a minute, Booty also says that Xbox's future multiplatform business will be done "individually on a case-by-case basis", just as head of Xbox Phil Spencer said last year. Of course, we're seeing that very strategy play out now, with things like DOOM: The Dark Ages getting revealed this month as a simultaneous launch on Xbox and PlayStation.
That doesn't mean that Xbox console exclusives are going away, though. The vast majority of the team's big announcements at the Xbox Games Showcase were only announced for Xbox, PC and Game Pass, something Booty says the team is "absolutely committed to" moving forward.
What do you make of these fresh comments from Matt Booty? Tell us your thoughts on the new direction down below.
[source variety.com, via windowscentral.com]
Comments 44
He also said "Xbox players can expect games to launch exclusively on Xbox". I notice how you left that part out.
Suggesting nothing is off the table.
It was clear to me before they announced, let alone released these 4 games, that MS would continue to release 'Some' games on Playstation.
Minecraft (and its Spin-offs) has remained multi-platform since MS bought Mojang. I certainly expected CoD to remain multi-platform too - in fact numerous ABK 'IP's' (Diablo, Overwatch) are likely to remain Multiplatform.
For MS, the ONLY Platform they can realistically target for additional Sales to boost their revenue, Like Sony do with their 'PC' releases, is the Playstation as MS already target PC day/date. If Starfield does eventually release on PS, its similar to Spider-Man eventually releasing on 'PC' - release on Platform you don't 'own' or have your own 'Store' on to extract as much 'revenue' you can for your 'IP' once you've extracted as many Hardware and/or Game sales you can from your own user base.
I couldn't care less if they do release EVERYTHING on PS eventually. Xbox will be where you can play 'Free' on Game Pass, Play it Day 1, not a year or more later. I have a PS5, but I'm not playing BO6 or Doom on PS5 when I can play it 'free' on Xbox, not buying Starfield/Indy Jones if they do release on PS when I can, and probably will have played on Xbox...
If they want to sell 'elsewhere', whatever money they get in is likely to be invested in Xbox Gaming. I'd rather they sell to Playstation to increase their 'revenue' that way than put prices up or stop putting games in Game Pass Day 1...
Case by case im cool with that. Halo, gears and new ips staying exclusive and all small games and live service going over is not so bad.
Maybe the dream one day.
Just one console all games the consoles can turn into studio wars to keep that lot happy.
All games Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo studios one console.
Many can make the console like we do blu ray players to specifications.
Lets end this rip off us gamers put up with multiple hardware to play all games day one.
ONE CONSOLE.
When did likes of Game Pass become free, sure it's £12.99 a month. Going to go watch Star Wars for free on Disney+
@BAMozzy Gamepass isn’t free therefore you aren’t playing the games for free
@GeeEssEff Game Pass itself isn't 'free' but access to all the Games Day 1 is 'free' - as in there is NO extra charge.
Netflix isn't Free either but all the Content you can access is considered Free, same with Amazon Prime - Free Next Day delivery, Free 'Content' to watch, Free 'games' etc. It's the same with Game Pass Core games that are considered 'Free' to play, (or the Games with Gold games before that), same with PS+ tiers (or the old PS+/PSNow Subs). PS+ has 'free' monthly games for Subscribers...
You can't play EVERYTHING in a Call of Duty game for £70 on Playstation as it requires PS+ Essential to play MP/Zombies but how many factor that in to the cost - they 'don't' because they are paying for PS+ regardless of whether they buy CoD to play other games too.
The point is that those games are 'free' to Play for anyone with a Game Pass Subscription where as everyone else will be required to 'buy' the game, spend £70 to play. Its not just that '1' game either as Game Pass has 100's of games you can play 'free' with that Subscription. The Sub may have a 'cost' but the Games you can play 'don't'...
@BAMozzy You can write as many essays as you want on this but it doesn’t change the objective fact that to play the games you mentioned I either need to buy them or pay for gamepass. By definition if money has changed hands for something it is not free.
Fortnite: Free
Starfield: Not free
Your “at no extra charge” argument isn’t a thing…gamepass is the charge. Either stop calling these games ‘free’ or get used to being corrected.
@GeeEssEff As I am NOT paying to play ANY of those games, I can access them ALL FREE because I have a Game Pass Subscription, they are 'FREE' to play.
I'm paying for Game Pass not paying to play CoD, Doom, MSFS, Indiana Jones or any of the other games to 'play' specifically. I have to 'buy' Assassins Creed Shadows to 'Play' so that has a direct cost to it - as will CoD, Doom etc too but I don't have to 'Pay' that or miss out.
The 'free' games on PS+ or Games with Gold were considered 'FREE' too despite you 'paying' a Subscription fee.
Either get used to people referring them to Free as that is the point of the Subscription - to be able to play 100's of Games - inc New releases Day/Date at 'no' extra cost, 'FREE' to ALL Game Pass Subscribers or continue being 'petty'...
@GeeEssEff Fortnite isn't 'free' either as you need to buy Hardware to play it on, need to pay for the Electricity and/or internet connection....
@BAMozzy
Oxford English dictionary’s definition of Free:
Adverb - Without cost of payment.
“The ladies were admitted free”
The ladies would not be able to play games on gamepass without paying for gamepass…..therefore gamepass games are not free.
Stop paying for gamepass and see how much Starfield you can play pal.
@GeeEssEff They are FREE with Game Pass as in I don't have to PAY anything to Play those games (and hundreds of games) because I have a Game Pass Subscription.
Disney+ lets you watch any of the Content for FREE with your Disney+ Subscription. Yes there is a Subscription fee, but that is letting you watch whatever you want when you want for 'Free' with your Subscription. Its the Subscription that 'costs' and that is a 'given', but everything within that is 'FREE' as you are not paying ANYTHING on top of that.
Buy one get one 'Free' isn't 'free' as you have to buy 'something', therefore money changes hands. Even if technically you haven't given 'money' for the 'free' item, you had to buy 'something' - much like buying a Game Pass Subscription to enable you to play ALL the games in that service, inc any Day 1 releases, FREE as in you do not have to give ANY money to Play CoD Day 1 before you can play because you have a Game Pass Subscription.
Stop paying your internet or Electricity bill and see how much Fortnite you can Play pal!! There are 'costs' everywhere - even in Free to Play games as you need to buy Hardware, need to pay for 'internet' and Electricity to play them.
Without Game Pass, I'd have to 'pay' to play these games - with Game Pass, I do not - they are 'Free' to play WITH a Game Pass Subscription. Whilst game pass may have a Cost, that Subscription allows Subscribers to play EVERYTHING contained within that for 'Free', at NO extra cost.
Free 'gifts' on Magazines were 'Free' even if you had to buy a Magazine to get them so money changed hands.
Nothing is free with a subscription, you're paying to access them. Definitely not free.
@Mustoe The games are 'Free' with Game Pass. yes you have to pay for Game Pass, but everything in that Service is 'Free' - you don't have to pay a penny extra to play whatever Games you want, when you want in that Subscription service. They are 'free' to access WITH a Subscription.
Yes there is a 'cost' for that Subscription, but with that Subscription, you get to play these games Free which without that Subscription would require you to Pay before you play.
I can watch ALL the content in Netflix 'FREE' with my 'Netflix' Subscription. If I stop paying for Game Pass, then I'd have to Pay money to play Starfield, Forza, MLB, CoD, Hellblade etc etc but with my Subscription, I can play all those 'Free'.
Accessing these is 'FREE' WITH a Game Pass Subscription because you do not have to pay any money to play these if you have a Subscription. They are FREE with a Subscription, just like you only get a Game 'Free' if you buy a game in a Buy one, get one 'FREE' sale. That wasn't totally 'Free' but Free With something, just like these are 'Free' with a Subscription...
@BAMozzy lol why would I subscribe to Disney+ for anything other than watching the content? I am paying Disney for that exact specific purpose. I’m not giving them £7 a month for the fun of it and going “oh thanks for all these free Star Wars shows Disney”. Best analogy so far and perfectly sums up the fact that I pay MS a monthly fee for the sole purpose of playing GP games.
Also how have you come to the conclusion that Fortnite isn’t free because I need an internet connection, electricity and a console but gamepass games are 😂 Truly bonkers logic on display here but at the end of the day you are still wrong….if you need to pay for something to use it then it’s not free. You have already written a dissertations worth of rubbish trying to disprove that fact but it’s still a fact.
@GeeEssEff The fortnite analogy that you quite rightly picked up on is because you stated Fortnite is ''FREE', Starfield isn't - yet without paying for electricity and internet, even hardware to play it on, you can't play it FREE!!
You pay whatever 'cost' the Subscription fee costs to access ALL the content that Subscription enables you to access for 'Free' as in you are not paying money to buy the movie/show, paying money to go to the Cinema or 'miss out' until it comes to Freeview channels etc. Everything contained in that Subscription can be accessed for Free WITH a Subscription.
As I said, you had Games with Gold and PS+ (now PS+) essential with 'Free' games every month too. Even those '360' GwG games you got to keep 'forever', by your argument weren't Free either as you had to be Subscribed to get them 'Free'...
@BAMozzy By that same logic all my travel is 'FREE' despite paying thousands a year for annual travel cards.
Yes the games are included with Game Pass but they certainly aren't free, it's really not complicated.
@BAMozzy I mean, stop paying for game pass and see how many of those free games you can play.
Unsurprisingly, when you decide to pay again, you can play them.
Literally the opposite of free.
And while some folks will pay 70 for a game outright, they can play as much as they want without a gamepass subscription. For all the money you pay on subs, you end up owning nothing. There's positives and negatives to both sides but insisting somethings free when it isn't clearly is just silly.
@Mustoe No one is saying that there isn't some 'cost' involved - but WITH a paid Game Pass Subscription, then those games are FREE to Play. With a paid Netflix or Disney+ Subscription, all TV/Movies are 'Free' to watch. With a Paid for Magazine, you may get some 'Freebie' on the front at 'no extra' cost.
When I go to the Supermarket and see 25% extra 'free' for example, I consider that 'Free' too despite the fact I'm having to buy the Product. A pack of 8 beers with 25% extra FREE, so 10beers for the 'price' of 8 isn't really 2 'free, as you have to 'buy' 8, spend money - its just that each 'beer' is cheaper rather than 2 beers FREE - but you are still getting them 'FREE' WITH your Purchase - just like these games are FREE WITH your Subscription...
Sea of thieves also lost over 60% of it's playerbase on PS5 within a month. I wonder how pleased they are about that.
@Mustoe Just stop - please just stop!!!
If you can't differentiate the difference between paying for a Subscription so you can access EVERYTHING contained within it for FREE (at NO extra cost to Subscribers, therefore 'FREE' to play WITH your Subscription), then that's on you...
I will be playing these Games 'Free' (at NO extra cost) because I have paid for a Game Pass Subscription. 'Yes - Game Pass has a Cost associated with it and whilst I do see your point, the purpose of these Subscriptions is to grant 'FREE' access to ALL the content contained within - no extra cost whether the content is 'old' or 'new', no extra cost to watch/play the exact same games that 'others' would have to pay a LOT more to 'play' Day 1 or buy a Subscription to play that game and hundreds of games 'Free' with that Subscription.
Nothing is ever 'technically' Free but with Game Pass, I can play hundreds of games at no 'extra' cost, essentially FREE with my Subscription - but its the Subscription that 'costs' not the Content it contains
This is a great strategy and it is already having a positive affect on the industry as playstation execs had discussions about helldivers 2 on xbox and have now opened the door to switch ports.
Just like when people said playstation would never follow xbox to the pc market they are now seeing playstation warm up to the idea of some games on other home consoles.
Multiplat is the future.
@Mustoe Not at all - there is a difference between 'Free' on Game Pass for example which is a FACT, despite the fact that 'Game Pass' itself has a 'cost' so not completely FREE in that sense.
If you have a Game Pass Subscription, you do not have to pay a penny to play, therefore they are FREE to play to Subscribers. With Game Pass, which we ALL know has a cost to it, these games are completely 'FREE' to play - no other or hidden costs, just that 'Subscription' fee regardless of what games release into Game Pass. Game Pass has a fee, it is NOT FREE, but the Content it offers within is FREE to Subscribers. For non-subscribers, they have to Pay to Play.
When Call of Duty releases for example, I can play it FREE because of having a Game Pass Subscription. Without it, I'd have to pay £70 to play it and still have to pay for Game Pass Core too to play MP/Zombies. With GPU, I can play it day 1 at NO extra Charge, therefore 'FREE' to me as I have Game Pass Ultimate - that will also let me play on my RoG Ally 'Free', on my 3080ti Laptop 'Free', on my Series X 'Free', on my Samsung TV or Mobile 'Free'. The game is 'Free' to play because I 'pay' for Game Pass - GP isn't 'free', but all the 100's of games it lets me play at NO extra cost are Free to play because I pay for Game Pass
Yes there is a 'charge' for the Subscription, but that does mean I get to play ALL the games within that Subscription for 'FREE' where games not in that Subscription - like Assassins Creed Shadows or Elden Ring for example will require buying to Play,
As for 'ownership', I have decades of Games in boxes that I never play and certainly haven't touched beyond the first 'year' they released. In fact when I moved out in 2013, before the XB1/PS4 gen released, I threw away boxes and boxes of games on tapes, discs etc from my Vic20 days all the way up to PS2/N64. The only games I 'kept' were 360/PS3 games as that was 'current'. However, I haven't touched them since the XB1/PS4 gen released, and since the XSX/PS5 gen, I'm not playing old games I bought/finished when 'new' games are out.
I couldn't care less if I can't play Hellblade 2 in 10yrs time because I didn't 'buy' it, If I'm still gaming, I'll be more interested in what's out then.
Well yall left out where he said "Xbox gamers can look forward to many games to launch exclusively on Xbox". That sounds like most are timed exclusives if you ask me.
@BAMozzy jesus mate, log off and have a little break. Your shift key probably needs it at this point with the amount of times you typed the word FREE in capitols.
I mean, I would have saved yourself the effort as you started it with;
'there is a difference between 'Free' on Game Pass for example which is a FACT, despite the fact that 'Game Pass' itself has a 'cost' so not completely FREE in that sense.'
You literally contradict yourself right there. It's painful to read the blind lecturing. Nobody is saying gamepass is bad. They are just pointing out the fact nothing on it is free, no matter how many times you type the word out.
So, I use reward points to obtain GamePass sub each month? Are they free for me? Or do we count opportunity costs where I could be doing something else instead of getting reward points?
@lechugajr oh no, you are in fact actually getting it for free.
I'm happy for SOT's success on PlayStation, but why no love for Grounded, HI-FI or Pentiment. These are all excellent games. I guess live service games rule, regardless of platforms.
Looking forward to the new Elder Scrolls being a PS6 exclusive.
It has been weird reading all these months the resident Sony fans on Pure Xbox typing as if it was a fact that all Xbox games will be on PS5 with the intention of making Xbox look bad somehow, when Microsoft has been consistent about it since the acquisition of Zenimax. If releasing certain games for Switch and PS makes business sense, then go ahead.
The biggest market is Windows and Microsoft realised last generation... and Sony this one. Not just that, but Sony released MLB The Show for Xbox (whatever the reason) and that Lego Horizon game for Switch and, apparently, Helldivers 2 is being discussed for an Xbox release. Sony can't pay the bills. They need at least PC. They opened their mind, it's time for their fans to open theirs. The future is multiplatform, PC and console(s), for the two of them!
@Sifi I don't pay £12.99 a month (actually got 9 months for £36 recently), it was like a few of the other replies that paying for something isn't free.
Like my Disney+ subscription isn't free as I pay for that.
Also have got deals on PSN but buy credit of a CDKEYS then use that to buy Plus etc
@Banjo- the PlayStation ones like MLB seem to be down to licensing and Helldivers II rumours been squashed multiple times. Seeing PS5 been the most profitable gen for PlayStation, not sure they need to go elsewhere. Think with live service games such as Concord, needs a player place that PC gamers seem to jump in on them.
But I've actually said for years, should just be here's your machine be it from Sony, Samsung, LG, Microsoft and just play games on them. Like at the moment I own a PS5, Series S and Switch because only way to play all the games, so one box be great. Yes I know I'm just asking for a PC 😂
@masofdas The price your paying for Ultimate Gamepass is £36, so just one 'Day One' game I. E the new COD is going to be worth more than you pay for your subscription, your also going to be getting all the AAA First Party 'Day One' titles this year plus at least one AAA 3rd party Day One title included.
PS Premium owners have to pay for their subscription Plus £70 on top just for that one COD game alone.
Using gift cards is never going to get you to the prices you can get on the Xbox using 3rd party for games and subscriptions.
You could use the same gift cards on the Xbox store but that won't be anywhere near as cheap as going via 3rd party either, plus the fact that the good value gift cards worth having don't come up on cdkeys very often.
@Sifi think you still missing the point, about paying for subs be it Game Pass, Plus, Netflix, Disney that they're not FREE as you're paying to access content
I guess we should all be prepared for articles like this and MS has nobody to blame but themselves.
Fact 1: We all know that a Gamepass subscription is not free. You have to pay for it.
Fact 2: We all know what @BAMozzy meant when he used the word "free". He even used the word in quotes indicating the word wasn't being used literally.
Fact 3: People just want to create chaos and argue.
Hey friend @BAMozzy I appreciate your comments here on PX, I understand what you said and even the others did too, they just don't want to have a gesture of goodwill and text interpretation.
@Foxx_64740 Some people don't have the mental capacity to actually read what I wrote. I clearly stated that these games are 'FREE' on Game Pass - to indicate that there is NO EXTRA CHARGE if you own a Game Pass Subscription.
Game Pass is a 'platform', just like Netflix or Disney+. All the content on that Platform is Free to access to those on that platform but to be on that Platform, there is a Subscription Fee. Game Pass is no different, you pay a 'fee' to be on that Platform, but then you don't have to pay any 'extra' money whether the game is a brand new, day 1 release or an 'old', not even this generation hardware, game. So everything in it is FREE because you 'pay' for Game Pass - no different to the PS+ Essential 'Free' games every month that you get at NO charge/Free because you have a PS+ subscription you 'pay' for to get 'Free' games, online access etc.
@BAMozzy Game Pass isn't free though. It's over $200 a year and will continue to rise. As an Xbox owner, I think they definitely need to offer something to differentiate their console over PlayStation, and a rental service isn't going to do the trick.
Next generation if someone can pick up a PS6 and it'll play all Xbox and PS games, why buy an Xbox that has nothing special on it? And 3rd parties are starting to skip Xbox and take it less seriously due to low install base as it is.
Xbox lacks identity, personally draw the line at Halo, Gears, Forza, Fable, Perfect Dark, State Of Decay ECT
If it's Activision I don't care where it goes, but they did promise Zenimax was about getting exclusives for where Game Pass exists.
@TheGameThrifter Who said Game Pass was Free? I never did. It certainly doesn't cost that much - not if you shop around and/or earn rewards/points through MS to earn free months or exchange reward points for a month of GPU.
MS aren't releasing everything on Playstation and even if they did, the vast majority won't be Day/Date. Why buy a Playstation when all their games are on PC? MS also release on PC, so might as well buy a PC or SteamDeck instead - then you also don't have to pay $120 a year on PS+ Essential just to play games online. I know PS+ can be cheaper if you don't pay 'monthly' through Sony's Store, but its the same way you calculated the Game Pass Ultimate Cost.
Take Black Ops 6 as that is a game on Game Pass and on PS5. To play that - inc MP/Zombies for a year on PS5 would cost you $70 to buy the game + $120 for PS+ - so $190 (+ whatever Tax is required) a year. And that only lets me play on Playstation.With Game Pass Ultimate, I can play Black Ops 6 for the year, as well as hundreds of other games, inc Day 1 exclusives like Avowed, Indiana Jones, Stalker 2 and MSFS as well as Hellblade 2, Starfield, Gears, Forza, Halo etc on ANY compatible hardware, not just Xbox consoles.
Look ahead to 2025, Games like Doom, CoD and MLB will be on PS5 - and that's likely to be $210 before you add the $120 a year PS+ Essential and you can only play on Playstation. On Game Pass Ultimate, I can play those at no cost on whatever Platform I choose - whether its on my Series X or 3080ti PC, maybe my RoG Ally or Samsung TV. I'm not 'locked' to a Console...
Game Pass Ultimate combines Game Pass Console, GP for PC, GP for Cloud, EA Access and GP Core for online play on Xbox. So I can play BO6 on my Xbox Series X, on my 3080ti PC, on my Samsung TV/Mobile via Cloud, on my XB1X etc all at no EXTRA cost.
So in terms of differentiating between the two - you have Xbox with its Exclusives (Fable, Perfect Dark, Halo, Forza, Flight Sim, Hellblade 2, Indiana Jones, Avowed, Gears of War, South of Midnight, Clockwork Revolution etc etc) and Sony with theirs (God of War, Horizon, Uncharted, SpiderMan, Wolverine, Concorde, Helldivers etc).
As far as 'Subscription' services, BOTH require a Subscription for ONLINE gaming (inc some SP games these days) but MS's Ultimate tier gives you access to hundreds of games inc all theirs and some 3rd Party games day/date and lets you stream games to any compatible device, even last gen Xbox hardware if they can't 'run' the game. It also lets you play Locally on PC and if you have a 'decent' gaming PC, its going to beat playing on PS/Xbox hardware in terms of Frame Rates and/or Graphical settings. Sony's service gives access to some of their games and older multi-platform games but not day 1 unless its a live service or indie game. You have to subscribe to their highest tier to get their PS1-PS3 era games and streaming - if you want to ALSO play on PC, then you'll have to buy Spider-Man, God of War etc again.
As I clearly stated, the games are 'FREE' on Game Pass meaning you have to have a GP subscription (which does cost) to be able to play those games 'FREE', at NO extra cost. Just like you can play Spider-Man or Ratchet & Clank 'FREE' on PS+ Extra or get PS1-PS3 games and streaming 'Free' on PS+ Premium tier. Game Pass Ultimate doesn't mean I have to play on Console either, it means I can play ANYWHERE on Game Pass for 'free' just like your Netflix or Disney+ subscription allows you to watch any Content they have 'free' on ANY platform that Netflix, Disney+ or Game Pass exists...
Because I have Game Pass Ultimate, I can play games like Avowed, Indiana Jones, MSFS, Stalker 2, Black Ops 6 etc as well as hundreds of other games on my Series X, 3080ti PC, RoG Ally or Samsung TV if I want. I'm not 'locked' to Xbox and only Xbox consoles.
Game Pass is a 'platform' like Netflix or Disney+ that allows you to access ALL the content they have for 'Free'. If you don't want to watch or play the Content they offer, you don't Subscribe to that 'platform'. I Subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate to be able to play the Games within for FREE on ANY platform I have, not just my Series X...
@BAMozzy Not following your long argument with everyone else, just your initial post.
It's going to be harder to justify owning an Xbox next gen (without a massive change in strategy, which does seem to be in the works) if they put everything on Playstation. What you aren't factoring in is the cost of the box itself. 'Free' at $15 or whatever per month, yeah I pay a lot less than that too, but the $500 (x3 in my case) up front cost as well, for games that are going to all exist on another platform. It's becoming less and less appealing.
The games are going to Playstation. It's a given. So if you're a Playstation owner next gen, do you really want to plop down $500 for the "privilege" to pay for another subscription service for "free" games that you can just buy?
We wait and see what tricks Microsoft has up their sleeve for next gen.
@Jenkinss Who says its a given? Who say's that they'll even launch Day q on Playstation?
At the moment, you have very little 'confirmed' for Playstation and really, the only game that 'succeeded' was Sea of Thieves - an online Community based game. A game that was '6yrs' old on Xbox and 'exhausted' the Xbox/PC community so the 'ONLY' way to grow was to release on PS5.
Other than CoD, which we knew would release Day 1 on Playstation and Doom - an IP that's been on basically every platform, you've got Minecraft too - another Multi-platform online community based IP.
Playstation doesn't have Halo, Gears, Forza, Starfield, Hellblade 2 and won't be getting Avowed, Indiana Jones, Fable, Perfect Dark, Flight Sim, Gears E-Day, South of Midnight, Clockwork Revolution or State of Decay 3 - certainly not at launch so those are ALL Exclusive to Xbox. Maybe Hellblade 2 or Starfield could release on PS5 eventually, but you still get them first on Xbox and can play 'FREE' with Game Pass Ultimate on ANY compatible hardware - inc PC and Xbox Consoles - or even Stream on even more Hardware. My TV has Xbox Game Pass built in to stream games without a Console so I can play BO6 or Doom 'free' via Game Pass Ultimate on my TV, on my 3080ti Laptop, on my Series X or RoG Ally.
You are missing the fact that Game Pass Ultimate doesn't 'require' you to spend $500 on a console. It works on that hardware of course and gives a specific tier - Series X is 'equivalent' to PS5 tier in that its targeting 4k visuals where Series S is 1440p and less likely to offer 'performance' modes and streaming is tier below Series S. However, if you have a decent Gaming PC you can play ALL those Xbox games for 'Free' with your Game Pass Subscription too.
Its NO different from Playstation with their PS+ Subscriptions - you can play their games in PS+ Extra for 'Free' too - just that their games in their service are not DAY 1 releases. You can 'wait' to play 'free' with your PS+ subscription too or not Subscribe and just 'buy' the games as and when you want - same with Game Pass too - except they add 'brand new' releases Day 1 into their Sub service and Ultimate means you don't 'need' to buy an Xbox at all because you can play on PC/Cloud too...
Instead of spending $500 on a PS and $500 on an Xbox, each requiring an Online Subscription to play most AAA games, spend that money (inc Sub fees for the lifetime you'll play) and you have Hardware that not only beats the Consoles in Graphics and performance, but also has the largest Game library of all, that will get EVERY MS game and Sony's Live Service releases Day 1 with Sony's Single Player games coming later but also get EVERY game on PC (Steam, Epic, Emulated Nintendo/sega/playstation game) all cheaper than Console and without having to pay a Sub fee for 'online' gaming.
A PS5 day 1 costs $500 and if you pay for online through Sony's store over 5yrs, that's $600 before you consider buying games too. That's enough to buy a decent PC that will be better than a PS5 and because you didn't buy an Xbox or need to pay online for that too, can save that money to 'upgrade' your PC so it remains 'better' than console.
Sony are releasing EVERYTHING on PC so why buy a Playstation? Xbox is on PC too so why buy a Console at all? In fact you can buy a RoG Ally for the same priced as just 1 console and that has Every Xbox release and will have every Sony release as well as all the PC and 'old' games games too. If its just about where the games 'are' you are better off on PC than Playstation! Even if Playstation does eventually get 'some' Xbox games, Xbox still has them first and buying an Xbox will enable you to play Indiana Jones, Avowed, Fable, Gears, Halo, Forza etc etc etc Day 1 on that Console - whether you also want to play 'Free' with Game Pass or buy the game to own. Buying a Playstation 5 won't get you access at all to those games.
As Sony are releasing everything on PC now, as is MS too, you might as well buy the next Steam Deck or a PC - no need to buy a Playstation at all and be 'locked' in to Sony's controlled and censored ecosystem, held to ransom over Online gaming - pay PS+ fee or you can't play the full content of games you paid money to play. Stop paying PS+ Essential and half the games are 'unplayable' or extremely limited in what you can play.
You can build a decent PC to 'beat' current 'Premium' consoles for the price of owning both and save money on ANY Sub fees
Game Pass Ultimate (the ability to play those games ''Free' across any hardware) is effectively £7 a month if you consider you 'have' to spend money on Game Pass Core just for 'online' gaming on Xbox which is included in GPU.
Ah, still in the denial stage of grief.
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