Photo: Xbox
Aside from the commotion between Sony, Microsoft, and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) caused by the Activision-Blizzard-King deal, it's good to know that games are still a priority under the radar. And while Take-Two CEO, Straus Zelnick, doesn't think highly of Xbox's Game Pass subscription, somehow, GTA V has made its way onto the service. However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows if you don't have an Xbox.
GTA V has decided to come to Xbox Game Pass, which is great news for subs. But while the console people can rejoice, the PC Game Pass users have been skipped over this time. It sure would be nice for Game Pass on Xbox to have 1:1 parity with PC one day.
If you ever wanted to play GTA V on Xbox, you might want to hurry up because it won't stick around forever. The odds are that the game will be up for at least three months, maybe even six, but seeing as an entire slew of games is coming right for us from September, you might not have the time for it. Remember, Starfield lands on Game Pass on September 6, Lies of P on September 19, and Forza Motorsport on October 10.
Not to mention the rest of the heavy hitters from every other gaming platform like Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Counter-Strike 2, Baldur's Gate 3, The Crew Motorfest (also available on Ubisoft+), Mortal Kombat 1, Cyberpunk: Phantom Liberty, Lords of the Fallen, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
These are just the cream of the crop from September and October alone. This year has been one of the best, if not the very best, the gaming industry has ever had in terms of releases.
Also coming to Game Pass this month are The Cave, Common' Hood, Exoprimal - Capcom's dinosaur-infested online team-based shooter, and three other titles that no one has heard or cared about.
As a long-time Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, the past 2-3 months have been disappointing regarding new games added to the service, but this is partly what that Activision-Blizzard fuss is all about. The other main reason is mobile gaming through King.
Dollar for dollar, Game Pass has the most value for the consumer out of all the subscription services from the gaming industry. The reason for this is very simple. Microsoft has bottomless pockets. Over 2.5 trillion worth, depending on who you ask.
So that's how Game Pass has survived since its June 2017 inception, over six years ago. It's not thriving by any stretch of the imagination, but until it finally becomes profitable, it will keep digging into those pockets as much as it needs to. Or until Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, decides to pull the plug on the Xbox division.
In the past, Strauss Zelnick has publicly said that gaming subscription services don't make much sense to him compared to the movie industry. He believes "it's a lost opportunity for the publisher."
That's 100% true in their case, at least, because world-famous franchises like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto that can earn $1 billion in 24 hours would only have to lose from being day one on such services.
But if you're a new developer company, Game Pass is a dream come true because it takes care of production costs like salaries, rent, licenses, and so forth, and it gives you peace of mind even if your game doesn't get 25 million downloads on day one on Game Pass.
Rockstar and new devs are sitting on completely opposite sides of the spectrum. This contrast is necessary to better understand that Zelnick's argument doesn't unilaterally apply to every entity from the gaming industry.
So does GTA V being on Game Pass mean it's on its last legs? Judging by Take-Two's yearly $700+ million revenue, that's a hard no. But it's still an excellent way for new generations to try out the game for "free" in preparation for the inevitable Grand Theft Auto VI.
If you ever wanted to play GTA V on Xbox, you might want to hurry up because it won't stick around forever. The odds are that the game will be up for at least three months, maybe even six, but seeing as an entire slew of games is coming right for us from September, you might not have the time for it. Remember, Starfield lands on Game Pass on September 6, Lies of P on September 19, and Forza Motorsport on October 10.
Not to mention the rest of the heavy hitters from every other gaming platform like Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Counter-Strike 2, Baldur's Gate 3, The Crew Motorfest (also available on Ubisoft+), Mortal Kombat 1, Cyberpunk: Phantom Liberty, Lords of the Fallen, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
These are just the cream of the crop from September and October alone. This year has been one of the best, if not the very best, the gaming industry has ever had in terms of releases.
Also coming to Game Pass this month are The Cave, Common' Hood, Exoprimal - Capcom's dinosaur-infested online team-based shooter, and three other titles that no one has heard or cared about.
As a long-time Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, the past 2-3 months have been disappointing regarding new games added to the service, but this is partly what that Activision-Blizzard fuss is all about. The other main reason is mobile gaming through King.
Dollar for dollar, Game Pass has the most value for the consumer out of all the subscription services from the gaming industry. The reason for this is very simple. Microsoft has bottomless pockets. Over 2.5 trillion worth, depending on who you ask.
So that's how Game Pass has survived since its June 2017 inception, over six years ago. It's not thriving by any stretch of the imagination, but until it finally becomes profitable, it will keep digging into those pockets as much as it needs to. Or until Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, decides to pull the plug on the Xbox division.
In the past, Strauss Zelnick has publicly said that gaming subscription services don't make much sense to him compared to the movie industry. He believes "it's a lost opportunity for the publisher."
That's 100% true in their case, at least, because world-famous franchises like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto that can earn $1 billion in 24 hours would only have to lose from being day one on such services.
But if you're a new developer company, Game Pass is a dream come true because it takes care of production costs like salaries, rent, licenses, and so forth, and it gives you peace of mind even if your game doesn't get 25 million downloads on day one on Game Pass.
Rockstar and new devs are sitting on completely opposite sides of the spectrum. This contrast is necessary to better understand that Zelnick's argument doesn't unilaterally apply to every entity from the gaming industry.
So does GTA V being on Game Pass mean it's on its last legs? Judging by Take-Two's yearly $700+ million revenue, that's a hard no. But it's still an excellent way for new generations to try out the game for "free" in preparation for the inevitable Grand Theft Auto VI.
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