Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service now has 25 million subscribers. This figure is up from 18 million in January last year reported by Microsoft.
Xbox Game Pass itself, especially the Ultimate tier, is arguably the main advantage of Xbox over consoles made by Sony. You could say this service is the Netflix of games, where customers can access and play games for free from the existing catalog, with a relatively affordable subscription fee. The price is USD 15 per month or even cheaper.
Not only that, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can also access the latest games created by Microsoft since the first day the game was released. However, it seems that this feature will not be available on the PlayStation Plus.
As the number of Microsoft subscribers grows, so does the number of titles available on Xbox Game Pass. In 2021, Xbox Game Pass added the iconic Bethesda games to a total of 20 games including Dishonored, Doom, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Wolfenstein.
Microsoft announced the achievement as well as revealed plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for USD 68.7 billion. The acquisition also strengthens Microsoft's Game Pass portfolio with plans to launch Activision Blizzard games into Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone with more than 25 million subscribers.
With nearly 400 million monthly active Activision Blizzard players in 190 countries and a $3 billion franchise, this acquisition will make Game Pass one of the most engaging and diverse ranges of gaming content in the industry. Once closed, Microsoft will have 30 in-house game development studios, along with additional publishing and esports production capabilities.
"We'll be offering as many Activision Blizzard games as possible on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, as well as new titles and games from Activision Blizzard's incredible catalog." said Microsoft CEO of Gaming Phil Spencer in a blog post as reported by us from The Verge, Friday (21/1/2022).
There are no specific specifications, but with the Warcraft, Call of Duty, Diablo, and Candy Crush brands to choose from - to name a few - the service will have plenty of options.
Microsoft has also been catching up with sports fans over the past year with the addition of NBA 2K21, Madden NFL 21, NHL 21, and more. Outriders also debuted on Xbox Game Pass last year, and Microsoft added Flight Simulator to the service over the summer.
Microsoft is also having a big Xbox Game Pass holiday, with Age of Empires IV, Forza Horizon 5, and Halo Infinite launching their first day on the service.
Microsoft has also been working on expanding where Xbox Game Pass is available, thanks to Xbox Game Streaming. The web version of Xbox Cloud Gaming (formerly Project xCloud) was widely available to players on iOS and PC last summer, and Microsoft began rolling out the service to Xbox consoles in November.
This will allow newer games, such as Microsoft Flight Simulator, to be streamed and played on older Xbox consoles as well, as the service is fully supported by Xbox Series X hardware.
