Xbox Series X is weathering the next-gen console storm in remarkable fashion: taking Sony’s PS5 head on, and looking to chip away at demand for its rival’s console by owning the partnerships’ game.
Batten down the hatches for the console war is about to get ugly, as Microsoft ceases the pleasantries, and launches a response to Sony's exclusives.
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While Sony’s PS5 promotion is quick to remind us of its many exclusives, it looks like Xbox could be embarking on a different path. Game Pass has always been Xbox’s ace up its sleeve, outfoxing PlayStation Now to offer a better service with more access to great games across Xbox’s four generations.
It's so important, that Microsoft espouses it as a key part in its marketing strategy. In efforts to expand the service, Microsoft has reportedly contacted every major publisher, including Ubisoft, to persuade them to include their titles for Xbox Games Pass.
Of course, the current speculation focuses on Ubisoft's subscription service, Ubisoft Plus, joining Xbox Game Pass. It's seen as widely representative of Microsoft's push to get gaming's biggest franchises on board. It follows the addition of EA Play to Game Pass, bringing the library of the publisher's titles to Xbox Game Pass.
It comes off the back of comments from The Xbox Two Podcast in which Windows Central’s, Jez Corden, suggested that Microsoft has been buttering up publishers to secure their titles for the Xbox Game Pass in 2021.
And he doesn't hold back, claiming: “They're all-in on trying to get all publishers to bring their games to Game Pass. It's just not Ubisoft either, I've heard they've been talking to basically every major publisher."
Xbox certainly looks to be charging up for 2021; T3 reported on Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda for $7.5 billion back in September of last year, bringing with it the studio’s back-catalogue of games and new titles to the Xbox Game Pass.
Microsoft's sights are now firmly set on broadening its Game Pass offering and it looks to be an essential tool in winning the next-gen battle.
Source: GAMERANT
