On the video game community ResetEra, a purported survey from Microsoft was leaked, suggesting the tech giant’s interest in establishing an ad-supported Xbox Game Pass tier. If this were the case, the plan would be far more reasonably priced yet come with a number of restrictions in addition to commercials.
The restrictions would, as one might anticipate, apply to the games that consumers could access. In particular, the poll found that although Xbox offered an exclusive library of games, customers could only play first-party Xbox games if they were made available on delayed dates, which would be six months after their release. The Xbox Live Games with Gold programme is reportedly included in the tier as well, but it may be more amazing given how few Xbox One independent games are available through it each month—just two. Regarding the advertisements, the tier would undoubtedly request that users view them prior to beginning their games.
This is not new in the world of subscription services; just this year, Netflix introduced its own “Basic with Ads” option. However, given that it conflicts with the business’s current Xbox Live Gold subscription, which costs $10 per month, it might be a highly compelling issue right now. The survival of Xbox Live Gold will be in jeopardy in comparison to the significantly less expensive cost of this “hypothetical” ad-supported tier, which will only cost $3 per month. Although some could contend that the money generated by the adverts is sufficient to make up for this, Microsoft may still be taking a risk with this. But it’s crucial to remember that the survey and the hypothetical cheaper plan are just that—hypothetical. Microsoft, a massive organisation with impressive business industry knowledge, also knows whether the risk is worthwhile. We’ll have to wait to see whether Microsoft decides to push for it with this.
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