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One of Microsoft’s biggest success stories in recent years has been Xbox Game Pass, which gives subscribers access to a growing catalog of games as part of a monthly membership. The program even includes new first-party releases, including Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 in 2021.
The service is thriving now with 25 million members and big games releasing for it seemingly all the time. But Game Pass wasn’t always seen as such a good idea inside Microsoft, it seems.
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Now Playing: Most Anticipated Xbox Exclusives For 2022 and Beyond
According to The Wall Street Journal, Spencer was a key player in making Game Pass happen–even when some of his staff presented potential issues. Richard Irving, who spent 12 years at Xbox before leaving in 2016, said Spencer would hear from staff in meetings about why Game Pass wouldn’t work, including a lack of excitement from publishers to join in or how the service might negatively impact profits.
However, Spencer stood firm in his belief in Game Pass. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Irving said. “He was always trying to find a way to make it work.”
Game Pass is a key differentiator in Microsoft’s gaming strategy relative to that of Sony and Nintendo. Sony, for its part, is rumored to be working on Game Pass competitor called Spartacus.
While there have been questions about the economics of Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s Xbox division is doing exceptionally well right now. The company just had its best-year in its history based on revenue. For more on Game Pass, check out the lists of Game Pass titles coming to and leaving the service in February 2022.
Microsoft is currently in the midst of purchasing Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in the biggest acquisition in the history of video games.
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