Considered by many to be more than worth the monthly cost, Xbox Game Pass is the front-runner in gaming’s fast lean towards subscription-based services. On top of Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer expressing interest in an Xbox mobile gaming store, the company’s Chief Financial Officer is now keen on bringing Game Pass to… well, just about everything.
As reported by GameSpot, Tim Stuart said in a recent Wells Fargo TMT Summit (form required to access) that the goal is to one day bring the Xbox subscription service, as well as first-party titles, to “every screen.” This would also include on competing systems from Sony and Nintendo.
Stuart is quoted as saying that it also means smart TVs and mobile devices, as well as “what we would have thought of as competitors in the past, like PlayStation and Nintendo.” Quite what these competitors think of this idea remains to be seen at this stage, but the report goes on to say that Sony previously blocked attempts to get EA Play on its consoles.
You can’t move for bloody Game Pass
It sounds like a lofty ambition, bringing an extremely lucrative Xbox feature to the PS5 or Switch. Obviously, the endgame is to expand Game Pass as much as possible, and with Microsoft now owning the Call of Duty franchise, it has control on how it distributes these games.
With that in-mind, both Sony and Nintendo may have a vested interest in making sure CoD continues to be a mainstay across all major platforms going forward. In that sense, Xbox Game Pass being made available on “every screen” could be something big tech firms might consider.
Then again, it could also just be another way Microsoft is continuing to gain a stranglehold on the prosperous video game industry. Time will tell on that front.
