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Oct 2020 – EA Play coming to Game Pass

EA Play is coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC this December at no extra cost. With EA Play, subscribers get instant access to a collection of EA’s best loved game titles on PC, alongside exclusive in-game challenges and rewards, special member-only content, and early trials of selected new games.

Oct 2020 – One more step in bringing Game Pass to every device?

Game streaming is already planned for PC and web browsers at some point in the future. According to The Verge, they reportedly had an interview with Xbox head Phil Spencer who indicated Microsoft are looking at solutions  getting Game Pass on to TV screens. This may come in the form of a streaming stick that you’ll plug into your TV, in a similar way to the Amazon Fire stick or Google Chromecast. It’s a solution that might negate the need to actually own an Xbox, and might even be bundled into one or more of the subscription levels. 

What You Will Need

Game Pass For PC 

To play games on PC you’ll need a Windows 10 PC (excludes Windows 10 in S mode and on ARM devices). App download, Windows update(s), and storage are also required. System requirements can vary by game; clearly overall performance will be better with higher end systems. 

Game Pass For Console

 Xbox Live Gold membership (sold separately) is required for some games and online multiplayer on Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles. Requires download(s) (significant storage, broadband, and ISP fees apply) and Microsoft account. May require additional hardware and subscriptions.

Game Pass Ultimate

Clearly for console or PC the requirements above apply. 

From a cloud gaming perspective, Microsoft are intent on making cloud gaming easy to access – as a starter all you need is an Android device running on 6.0 or higher and a good quality internet connection. Download the Game Pass app from either Google Play or the Samsung Store, have an active Ultimate subscription and you’ll be good to go.

Microsoft recommend using an Xbox controller for the major bulk of games. You should be able to pair any controller over wireless as long as it’s the latest generation Bluetooth-enabled revision (ie one that’s been with you since mid-2017). You can tell whether you have one of these controllers by its contoured plastic body with the face-plate surrounding the unit.

Read more on broadband/internet ideal quality below.

Free Trials

With the Xbox Game Pass membership options there are currently no free trials, though as we’ve seen there are some heavily discounted deals for the first month’s subscription (which effectively give you an almost free trial as long as you remember to cancel the subscription before the end of the first month). Plus for Live Gold and Ultimate there are options to make heavy savings by paying for more months in advance. 

Comparing Subscriptions

We’ve covered the different subscription levels with what each offers and how much they cost above. The simplest way to compare all the different Game Pass plans in one hit is to take a look at Microsoft’s own page with comparisons. 

Games

With Game Pass you’ll get access to a huge catalogue of games from a wide range of gaming developers. Users will notice well over 100 video games when starting a subscription service on Microsoft Game Pass and many more are added all the time. Overall the catalog has a good selection and includes original Xbox games. 

This Windows Central page lists some of the best titles currently included in the membership options.

While new releases are added as soon as available, some of the older games are removed and replaced with later versions or better video gaming experiences altogether. 

Microsoft Game Pass offers users access to all the big name games and many more. You can Play Golf with your Friends, go Wild Mountain or hill cycling in Descenders, fly an aircraft with Microsoft Flight Simulator or do battle with a range of Forza games.

The number of game genres available on subscriptions is pretty much the same as if you’re looking at a library of mobile games or discs. All of the popular genres are covered, including: 

Virtual World games | Exploration | Driving |Racing | Action | Adventure | Board | Card | Sports | Multiplayer | RPG |

Strategy | Puzzle | Hyper Casual 

And many more!

Country Availability

Here’s a full list of which countries you can sign up for Game Pass from which is correct as of October 2020. To confirm or look for additions please check the Microsoft regions page.

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States.

Internet/Broadband Requirements

One of the potential drawbacks of playing your games on a server that’s not right in front of you is that you need to connect to it over broadband. We’ve all had experience of less than ideal broadband speeds and poor quality connectivity. 

Just the same as with any subscription or cloud service, for Game Pass to give you the best quality experience you will need a connection that’s of a reasonable standard. Microsoft recommends a download speed of up to 10 Mbps and at least 4.75Mbps (ideally up to 9Mbps) upload for Xbox cloud gaming – a speed which is effective for streaming HD video too.

While your local connection quality is important, the time for round trip between your device and the Microsoft servers it’s connecting to also plays a part. This is sometimes referred to as latency, and affects the time difference between when you make a command to do something on your controller or keypad and that action actually taking place in the game. It’s unlikely to be a noticeable issue in single player games but might be more so in multiplayer.

Network latency needs to be 125ms (milliseconds) or less, with 60ms being preferred (modern WiFi/LAN networks should be able to meet this requirement without major issues).

Microsoft have an advantage here with servers positioned all over the world and can offer round trip times at lower figures than a number of competitors. But even so, you probably won’t get the perfect experience if you’re playing a competitive online shooter game over a streaming service.

So you’ll need good broadband. Satellite internet probably won’t be good enough, and neither will some cellular networks. If you’re using a public or shared Wi-Fi connection and someone else started downloading big files you could experience interruptions. For that reason, playing across a shared connection at somewhere like an airport or shopping mall (where there may be other restrictions on use in place) may well result in an unsatisfactory experience. 

Xbox cloud gaming will also operate over Wi-Fi or mobile data connections. For WiFi, Microsoft recommends using 5 GHz wireless. For mobile 4G is mainly sufficient, although 5G is likely to give optimal results.

Read this article at OltNews for an in depth guide to speeds, connections, and data usage. 

You’ll need to keep an eye on your broadband or mobile usage. Many players may be on an unlimited home broadband deal, but on mobile broadband this might not always be the case and you may rack up excess data charges alongside experiencing more latency on a mobile. 5g networks may improve that. 

Ease Of Use

Applying the app to a PC is relatively easy. The Xbox app is available through the Microsoft Store and once downloaded you are ready to select a video game and start playing away. If you own an Xbox console, navigate to the “Game Pass” section and add from this menu. Signing up for one of the subscriptions is straightforward, either navigate to the one you’re interested in via links on this page or you can sign up on your console. 

Once you’ve subscribed you can manage your subscription from your console, mobile, or PC. On the latest versions of the OS, Game Pass has its own tab inside the “my games and apps” section and games can be installed directly from here without the need to go to the store. 

Benefits

The main benefit or pro of a taking out an Xbox Game Pass subscription is fairly obvious – if you currently regularly buy a wide number of game discs then subscribing is likely to save you money overall. Equally you have the convenience of just logging in and playing whenever you want, plus you’ll get some tasty titles to play. 

These main benefits are clearly applicable to many subscription services. For Game Pass itself, other pluses include:

The Xbox Game Pass is among the most popular of the different gaming subscription services as it allows users to download the entire game. This gives players a complete fidelity in gaming experience and one where they will not have to worry about bandwidth issues or connectivity drop outs.

The Xbox Game Pass offers more than 100 games for both its Windows 10 and Xbox console platforms. That is a lot of games! Moreover, Xbox Game Studios release a number of first-party releases which come out on the same day the software testers have completed the new games.

All the Big Name Publishers Are Available.
The Xbox Game Pass gives players access to a number of top gaming companies and publishers. Some of the top names in the industry all provide users with access to its regular new releases. Names like the Bethesda Soft Works, WB Game, Namco and Capcom.

All in all, the whole package of options is designed to get video gamer’s the chance to try out titles they might never have purchased naturally.

Drawbacks

 There aren’t too many big drawbacks with taking up a Game Pass membership. You might find the monthly subscription fee does seem expensive when compared to other services (at the standard monthly fee you’ll be paying roughly the equivalent of two bought games in a year), while the Cloud service is still not out of its Beta trial yet so some gamer’s may experience a lag or even the odd disconnection issue.

Regarding games  – although new games are added as soon as they are released (a major benefit of course), older games can get removed. You could find a game you’re enjoying has suddenly gone ‘missing’, so it’s probably a good idea to play anything you like the look and feel of as soon as practical.

Keep an eye on game ratings, especially with younger children in mind – many games have an M rating so you’ll need to be on the lookout if younger children are playing.

Downloading a significant number of games will fill a hard drive up fast. The biggest drive available on an Xbox One is 1 TB so buying extra external memory may be a necessity if you don’t want to have to delete games every time you want to play something new. 

Depending on where you’re playing, there may be problems with speed or lag times. This is unlikely to be at home as long as you have a reasonable quality connection, but more likely to be an issue when connected on a shared internet at somewhere like an airport. Too many cooks spoil the broth, as they say!! 

You’ll need to keep an eye on your broadband or mobile usage. Many players may be on an unlimited home broadband deal, but on mobile broadband this might not always be the case and you may rack up excess data charges alongside experiencing more latency on a mobile. 5g networks may improve that. 

Future Developments

It’s always worth knowing what’s coming up, right? You’ll get a feel for this in the entries to out latest news section, but here are some of the bigger developments on the way.

First off, we an expect to see increasing numbers of signups for the varying Game Pass subscriptions. Their popularity can be illustrated by the fact that while Microsoft’s latest financial report showed an decrease in Xbox hardware sales, a huge increase was reported in subscribers to both Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass. 

There are strong rumours that EA Play will be available to Xbox console users purchasing the Games Pass Ultimate come December 2020.

In addition, it was reported in October 2020 that Microsoft are considering taking another step towards access from all devices with the news that some form of streaming stick – which will provide access from a TV – is under investigation. 

Lastly for now – and this could be wild speculation – it’s not inconceivable that ultimately we could be seeing Game Pass games on the offers from other console makers Sony and Nintendo.

Legal or Restrictions

As you would expect, games are only available to play (unless you’ve bought them) for as long as you have an active subscription. You’ll lose access as soon as you reach the end of any month in which you terminate.

Legally of course you’ll be able to subscribe and play (subject most likely to any age related regulations, if any) from any of the countries where Game Pass is available. If you have parental responsibility and want to protect any younger children from playing unsuitable titles then the best bet is to follow the Xbox guidelines for setting an age safety limit.  

Resources

This page on SubscriptionGames.com gives a pretty in depth view into the various aspects of Game Pass subscriptions, but it’s always worth looking further afield for useful info published online that goes into equal depth. 

Here are a few resources worth taking note of:

Gamespot carry a valuable article titled ”xbox all access what you need to know” 

Wikipedia have a dedicated Game Pass page.

Pocket Lint have an article titled ”What is Xbox Game Pass and How Does It Work” 

Summary 

There are many different ways to play games, and paying a subscription to play is the latest in a long line. There is sure to be a lot of competition among service providers for Customers over the coming years. 

Microsoft are already well positioned to be one of the main destinations of choice for gaming going forward, and their Game Pass services tick a lot of boxes. With a clearly forward thinking ethos in the company, we’ll certainly be likely to see further enhancements to a collection of already well regarded subscription solutions.