It’s like Netflix, but without the streaming
Microsoft has today launched their Netflix-like Xbox Game Pass, promising a catalogue over a hundred games to download and play on your Xbox One for a monthly fee.
How much is it?
The game pass will cost £7.99 / $9.99 / €9.99 per month, with a free fourteen-day trial to test the service out.  You’ll have access to the games whilst the subscription remains active. If you choose to cancel, you’ll lose access to the games that you obtained.
Not too shabby, but if it’s like Netflix then are the games streamed?
This has been a big selling point for the Microsoft service and appears to be quite the differentiator against rival Sony’s PlayStation Now service. Games that form part of the Game Pass are downloaded to play natively on your Xbox One.
Of course, you’ll have to make sure you’ve got enough storage on your hard drive to download your games of choice.
What sort of games are available?
Quite a decent range are there of games that have come out over the years. Don’t expect the latest games to come straight to the Game Pass, but you will see a fair amount of classics to sink your teeth into if you are yet to play them. Some standout ones for me include the BioShock trilogy, DmC, all of the Gears of War games (minus the latest entry), Resident Evil 0 and WWE 2K16, to name but a few.
Does the Xbox Game Pass need a Gold membership?
Fortunately not. It’s not essential, but you will need it if you fancy diving into any of the online features the game offers.
So what do you think about it?
It’s a decent move by Microsoft to take on PlayStation Now and EA’s pass for Origin. So long as you don’t mind that the library is not filled with the absolute latest in the release calendar, then there might just be plenty here for you to enjoy.
It certainly has legs, and will be a big call for competitors to reply to this challenge. The price point is quite decent too for what you’re getting, Compare that with PS Now at £12.99 a month and it certainly seems like a steal.
