Without a doubt, Xbox Game Pass is one of the most valuable services in the gaming industry today. When combined with Xbox Live Gold in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, it allows gamers to play premium games online, get access to a handful of monthly games with Games with Gold, access to EA Play's library, and also access the library of 100+ games on Game Pass. While they are almost always rotating, the sheer variety of Game Pass titles is a big win for Microsoft.
As such, Microsoft and Xbox's continued emphasis on Game Pass via the cloud, via PC, and via mobile alongside console has not been surprising. What perhaps has been is rumors that Xbox Game Pass would come to other brands' hardware, like the Nintendo Switch. While the answer may seem obvious (competition), head of Xbox Phil Spencer explained why in a recent interview with Gamesradar.
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When asked about Game Pass coming to the Nintendo Switch, Spencer explained that the company's efforts where else, "mainly because those closed platforms don't want something like Game Pass." It's clear that he's talking about Nintendo and potentially even PlayStation, but also generally regarding any platform that could, in theory, support Game Pass. Instead, because Spencer wants fans to have the "full Xbox experience" anywhere it deliver Game Pass, the company has focused on open platforms that could promote growth: the internet, PC, and mobile. In his exact words,
"We have no plans to bring it to any other kind of closed platforms right now, mainly because those closed platforms don't want something like Game Pass. There's a ton of open platforms out there for us to grow in: the web, PC, and mobile. So all of our focus, frankly, is on those platforms."
Moreover, Spencer would go on to explain that it's a position he also understands and is not a "slam on anybody else who has a system that works for them." He understands that, in this context, Game Pass could be a disruption to their ecosystems, especially because if Game Pass was going to appear on a system like PlayStation or Nintendo, it would have to be the full experience. This would suggest that games like Halo: Infinite would be part of that, meaning Xbox exclusive games would have to be playable and welcome on other platforms.
At the end of the day, though, Spencer doesn't rule out the possibility of Xbox Game Pass ever appearing on other platforms. It seems Spencer is dedicated to the general Xbox experience of making anything and everything as accessible as possible. After all, he closes out the interview with a strong emphasis that those discussions—putting Game Pass on Switch, PlayStation, or any other platform that could support it—are always welcome: "In the end, when we say we want everybody to be able to play on Xbox, we really mean if we can bring that full experience to a device that players want, we are totally open to those discussions."
Xbox Game Pass subscribers get a new handful of free games every month.
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Source: Gamesradar