Is Microsoft exploring a cheaper ad-supported Xbox Game Pass “Lite”?
What you need to know
- A purported survey posted on ResetEra indicates that Microsoft may be exploring an ad-supported tier of Xbox Game Pass, which also awards Xbox Live Gold.
- The cheapest tier will include all of Xbox’s exclusive game library, including major first-party titles six months after launch. However, these games will play ads at launch to help fund the level.
- Microsoft also recently patented personalized ads to appear in games, which seems suspiciously appropriate given this survey.
- It might also be nothing.
A confluence of recent events has led some (myself included) to speculate that Microsoft could be exploring a cheaper, ad-supported tier of Xbox Game Pass.
The post buried in the ResetEra thread appears to show a recent survey sent out to some Xbox users, asking how they felt about an extra layer of Xbox Game Pass.
If it’s real, the purported tier would cost $3 per month, and provide access to a variety of Xbox Game Pass content with some fairly generous limits. It will include an EA Access-like vault for previous first-party Xbox games, with a similar 6-month delay on new Xbox games from having access to the service. Those who have accessed download-only Xbox games through this tier will be prompted to view an ad before starting the game.
Assuming the above table is true, this tier also includes online multiplayer access, which is currently $9.99 per month and offers no games other than Xbox Live games that are heavily diminished with the Gold program. Games With Gold generally only includes two standalone Xbox One titles per month, and has been criticized and derided for quite some time.
This supposed ad-supported tier would severely reduce your monthly level of Xbox Live Gold, potentially becoming a head-scratcher in that equation. Would Microsoft really be willing to sacrifice $10 a month Xbox Live Gold for this much cheaper version? Also Includes massive amounts of the best Xbox games? Will advertising revenue be able to offset the potential shortfall here? Personally, I’m skeptical. Microsoft offers Xbox Live Gold at $60 a year as well, and it works out to $5 a month, but even at that price, there’s still a shortfall to be reckoned with when you count the millions of users.
Whether or not the economy works in this scenario is up for debate, but it certainly looks as if Microsoft is exploring an ad-supported category of Xbox Game Pass in some formats. A recent patent filed by the company covers technology that predicts decreased in-game engagement, possibly due to a loading screen for example. Then, Xbox will display an advertisement based on the user’s privacy settings and interests. Online ads have been a growing part of Microsoft’s Bing business for some time, and with other subscription services like Netflix exploring ad-supported tiers, it makes sense to see Microsoft explore the same path.
Could that really happen?
As we often say at Windows Central, Patents do not mean products. Microsoft files a ton of patents every week based on the research it does, and has often said that the research doesn’t actually pay off. Likewise, surveys don’t always lead to products either. Users voting overwhelmingly against the idea of an ad-supported Xbox Game Pass category could be killing the idea at the gestational stage.
Either way, I suspect Microsoft is exploring ways to lower the barriers to entry for its subscription services. Xbox Live Gold feels like a relic of the past, lining up almost completely in favor of Xbox Game Pass marketing. However, it is an undeniably important component of the console’s business model. You sell hardware at cost (or even less), and profit from software and services after you sell them. Microsoft eliminating the monthly Xbox Live Gold fee without a proper replacement could create a huge cash flow shortfall, which doesn’t quite seem like a smart move in the current economic climate.
On the flip side, canceling Xbox Live Gold or folding into the Xbox Game Pass tiers would give Microsoft some solid edge against competitors, given how much Xbox Game Pass offers overall. I suspect we’ll eventually see Xbox Live Gold disappear, but only when it makes economic sense for Microsoft.
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