Microsoft has reportedly announced 30 new game titles, stating that most of them will be available on Xbox Game Pass, its monthly subscription service.
The company has planned to launch new titles on Game Pass every month until the end of 2021. This includes games like ‘Forza Horizon 5’, a racing game, and the popular strategy game ‘Age of Empires IV’.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, developers at Microsoft were confined to their home, delaying many new projects in the process. However, the company is now set to launch one of its marquee games, ‘Halo Infinite’ for the holiday season later this year.
Last November, Sony and Microsoft unveiled their next-gen consoles PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X respectively. The pandemic restrained gamers in their homes resulting in a surging demand for these consoles.
Many of the upcoming gaming titles announced by the company at the E3 2021 conference were from Bethesda Studios, the developers responsible for hit games like ‘Doom’ and ‘Fallout’. Microsoft took over the parent company of Bethesda, ZeniMax Media, for a reported amount of USD 7.5 billion in 2020.
In addition, the company declared launch dates of two big-budget, PC- and Xbox-exclusive games, ‘Redfall’ which is a shooting game themed on vampires, and ‘Starfield’, a role-playing game. ‘Redfall’ will launch next summer whereas ‘Starfield’ will be released on November 11, 2022.
To appeal to casual gamers, Microsoft has been developing its cloud gaming service and exclusive streaming devices.
Game Pass has a monthly subscription fee of USD 9.99 and will enable access to hundreds of playable games on Android devices, Xbox consoles, and PCs.
Phil Spencer, Xbox head, apparently stated that the Game Pass subscription allows its players access to a full retail store and a subscription package, making it different from a subscription-based service like Netflix.
Source Credits:
https://www.reuters.com/technology/spotlight-xbox-game-pass-microsoft-showcases-upcoming-games-2021-06-13/