Sega’s On Board for PC “Game Pass”

A couple years ago Microsoft introduced something called “Game Pass” for Xbox owners. For a flat fee of $10 a month, Game Pass subscribers had access to a library of around 100 games that would rotate in and out of availability, sort of like Netflix. Microsoft also quietly pledged to bring Game Pass to the PC, but left it at that.

In the intervening years, Game Pass has been somewhat functional on the Windows 10 Store, but obviously not a focus. Whereas Xbox users got dozens of games, Game Pass on the PC topped out at around 16 games. Often, it didn’t even make sense — a game like Sunset Overdrive, which was an Xbox One launch title and received a very belated PC port earlier this year, was only available on Game Pass for Xbox owners, even though the PC version was available to purchase on the Windows 10 Store. Even first-party Microsoft games were never guaranteed to show up on the PC version of Game Pass.

Well, no more. Today, Microsoft has officially announced a comparable PC “Game Pass.”

Two years ago, we launched Xbox Game Pass on Xbox One, and since then we’ve seen how valuable a curated library of high-quality games can be for players and game developers alike. It offers a great way to discover and play your next favorite game. We researched whether a similar opportunity exists for PC players and PC game developers, and we believe that it does. We also considered the importance of bringing something new and additive to the PC gaming ecosystem, and we believe that we can. So, we designed a service specifically for the needs of PC gamers and PC game developers. It’s called Xbox Game Pass, just like the original, but it’s a new experience that we are building together with the PC community.
 
Xbox Game Pass for PC will give players unlimited access to a curated library of over 100 high-quality PC games on Windows 10, from well-known PC game developers and publishers such as Bethesda, Deep Silver, Devolver Digital, Paradox Interactive, SEGA, and more. And just as we committed on the console, it is our intent to include new games from Xbox Game Studios in Xbox Game Pass for PC the same day as their global release, including titles from newly acquired studios like Obsidian and inXile. We’re working with over 75 developers and publishers to bring PC content to the service and we’ll ensure the library remains curated and full of great PC titles across a variety of genres, with new games added every month.
 
Xbox Game Pass for PC members will also receive discounts in the Microsoft Store on Windows of up to 20% on games currently in the library and up to 10% off related game DLC and add-ons.

No word yet on which specific games will be making it over to the PC version of Game Pass, or if it’ll even be a separate fee entirely, but Microsoft promises to share more at E3 in a couple weeks.

Could Team Sonic Racing debut on PC Game Pass? Or maybe Yakuza Kiwami? We’ll find out soon.