Xbox has announced the first wave of new Game Pass additions for the month of October, including Gotham Knights and The Lamplighter's League, with Forza coming soon.
19.09.2023 - 16:57 / gamespot.com / Phil Spencer
Leaked emails from Microsoft show the company was concerned about the anemic schedule for its flagship subscription service.
By Steve Watts on
A trove of leaked emails from Microsoft have shown loads of internal deliberations about possible acquisitions, future console plans, and more. Among the revelations is an email from Xbox head Phil Spencer expressing concern about the long gap between big marquee games on its Xbox Game Pass service, referring to it as a «disaster situation.»
The email from Spencer, dated May 7, 2022 says that the Starfield delay combined with the war in Ukraine impacting both Redfall and Stalker 2 created a «huge hole» in the games lineup for marketing and differentiation of Game Pass content, and concludes that the company should be mindful of this in the future.
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«We keep talking about a bit (sic) AAA a quarter in the service and it feels like we are likely to go through a gap of almost 16 months between big exclusive launches on our platform,» it reads. «Halo Infinite being our last on December 8, 2021. This is really a disaster situation for us given all we've invested in content across studios at our GP content fund. We need to learn from this and build a plan going forward.»
He goes on to say that 2021 was a great year for Game Pass that set a high bar, and 2022 was «a miss we can't afford» by comparison. He says that the team will need to be better at planning its portfolio with «real honesty on dates»--seemingly referring to being realistic about internal timelines. He also suggested the possibility of strategically delaying launches to create a steady beat of content.
Game Pass is a major pillar for Microsoft, and it has leaned into its subscription across platforms and its cloud gaming service. The company acquired several developers over the last few years with an apparent focus toward providing Game Pass with a steady stream of content, which Spencer recognizes in the email. But the slow pace of new content in 2022 was definitely noticed by gamers, and this leak shows that Microsoft saw the issue coming. The company has also since commented on plans to release four first-party games per year, which would fulfill the goal of a AAA game per quarter that Spencer references.
The leak of confidential court documents have also shed light on Microsoft's long-term next-gen Xbox plans, a mid-gen refresh for the Series X|S, and a roadmap of future Bethesda games.
The products
Xbox has announced the first wave of new Game Pass additions for the month of October, including Gotham Knights and The Lamplighter's League, with Forza coming soon.
If you’re subscribed to Game Pass, you have quite a few notable upcoming releases to look forward to. Microsoft has revealed the lineup of games that will be added to the subscription service’s library in the coming days as part of the first wave of October additions, and there’s a couple of major titles to look forward to.
Microsoft has announced new titles coming to Xbox Game Pass in early to mid October, which includes Forza Motorsport, Like A Dragon: Ishin!, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and From Space.
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Phil Spencer has stated that Xbox players can see more AAA releases by Japanese studios come to the platform in the future. Speaking to Game Watch, Spencer said that Xbox will get more games described by the interviewer as “uniquely Japanese AAA titles” down the line.
Game Pass has become central to Microsoft’s gaming efforts ever since its introduction, driving the company to a much more platform agnostic approach. Interestingly enough, however, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan doesn’t seem to be a big fan.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it was raising the subscription prices for Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate in all markets except the US, Japan, Chile, Brazil, and Columbia, and as many may have expected, it looks like it won’t be the only price hike we’ll see for Microsoft’s subscription service.
Xbox announced a slew of new titles coming to its Game Pass subscription service this year. At its Tokyo Game Show segment, held Thursday, the publisher confirmed that Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will be available to members for free on day one i.e., November 9. In it, Kazama Kiryu, the famous Yakuza who faked his death to protect his family, slips into the black suit once again and works as a bodyguard codenamed ‘Joryu.' His cover is soon threatened when a mysterious figure with ties to the past comes to haunt him, spawning a crazed frenzy across the streets of Japan, as we punch our way through hordes.
will be coming to on day one. In fact, during the Xbox Digital Broadcast at Tokyo Game Show last night, there were two more games revealed to be coming to the service, including Like a Dragon: Ishin!.
Capcom will host a dedicated Online Program for Tokyo Game Show today at 7 AM PDT. In the meantime, it had a few announcements during the Xbox Digital Broadcast at Tokyo Game Show 2023, like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy coming to Game Pass for Xbox and PC on September 26th.
Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass will add Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy on September 26, Microsoft announced.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will be available via Xbox Game Pass on day one of release, publisher SEGA and developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio announced.