Rumours about Xbox Game Pass with advertising
There are growing indications that Microsoft is working on a new Game Pass model for the Xbox. This will probably be cheaper - but will come with adverts.
Recently, Tim Stuart, CFO of Microsoft's gaming department, caused a stir. He hinted that the company also wants to offer Game Pass for competitor platforms. For example Playstation, Nintendo Switch or even iPad and iPhone. While Microsoft's gaming CEO Phil Spencer later denied this, new, much more concrete plans are apparently already emerging.
So security experts from TitleOS have allegedly found lines of code in the Xbox operating system that suggest an upcoming ad-financed model of the Xbox Game Pass. The code describes that users will only receive access to the Game Pass after an "earned time". They would therefore have to watch an advert before they can access their games.
In contrast to series streaming, adverts are unlikely to be interrupted during gaming. This would disrupt the flow of the game, especially in online games.
In line with the rumours, Stuart recently spoke about the fact that an advertising-based plan could be successful in regions such as Africa, India or Southeast Asia. For example, "two hours of cloud gaming could be offered in exchange for a 30-second advert".
However, Microsoft has not yet made an official statement on specific plans.
Microsoft following in Netflix's footsteps
Microsoft has already conducted surveys regarding an ad-supported game pass in the past - in the Xbox Insider programme. The idea seemed to be well received there. And why not - streaming suppliers such as Netflix rely on similar models, which don't seem to be going badly so far
Cover image: Microsoft
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.