QUICK SUMMARY
Xbox has made some big announcements with news that some of its exclusive titles will be coming to other platforms. One thing that won't arrive on other systems is Xbox Game Pass.
So there was plenty of news yesterday, right? The Xbox shake-up could have a massive impact on the games industry for years to come. Microsoft has revealed that at least some of its exclusive titles will be making their way to other platforms, but it looks like it will retain the keys to its crown jewel, Xbox Game Pass.
The subscription service is one of the best deals in gaming, giving subscribers access to hundreds of games on PC and Xbox for one monthly fee, and it's not going anywhere. In an official blog, Xbox wrote "To be clear: Game Pass will continue to be only available on Xbox platforms."
Wow. That's pretty definitive. It's a shame for Nintendo Switch (or Switch 2) and PlayStation owners but it does make sense. Expanding Game Pass to other systems would make Xbox hardware a tricky sell, especially when Nintendo and Sony's consoles have their own exclusive titles.
The most impressive thing about Game Pass is getting day one access to the biggest new releases for no additional cost. For example, last year I was able to play two of the year's most anticipated releases, Starfield and Redfall (admittedly a massive disappointment) as soon as they launched. It feels like cheating.
In the same announcement, Xbox also declared that its next console will be the "largest technical leap ever seen" and if true, that's another reason to keep Game Pass for itself. We don't want to see half-baked versions of titles just so that they can run on some potentially less powerful hardware. Admittedly PCs can vary wildly in performance but console gamers aren't used to compromising.
If you're after the next big Game Pass release then Microsoft has just announced it. Diablo IV will be making its way to the service on March 28th. That's another big advantage Xbox has over its rivals. After Microsoft's recent spending spree, it has merged with both Activision/Blizzard and Bethesda, two of the biggest studios out there. It seems rumours of Xbox's death have been greatly exaggerated.
