Opinion PC Game Pass is already affecting my purchasing decision on Steam, is this Microsoft's end goal?

[texhnolyze]

So, it seems like Microsoft is going all in with this Game Pass business. More games are constantly being added to the library, from old to recently released, and even upcoming games. As someone who have a limited budget for games, Game Pass offerings is such a Godsend because I get to play more games while spending way, way less.

Today, they added a few new games to Steam for pre-purchase. But I really don't want to purchase anything, even Wasteland 3 that has good regional pricing on my end. If there was no Game Pass, I probably have pre-ordered Halo MCC and Wasteland 3 by now, and might have bought the remastered Age of Empires games too. But thanks to Game Pass, I can use that money for other games instead. On top of that, there's also Yakuza and Final Fantasy games being added. I was planning to complete my Yakuza and FF collection on Steam, but now, should I? Also, does it mean that the future games will be on Game Pass too? I have almost 1K games on my Steam library, and I don't mind entering XBox ecosystem with Game Pass, as long as I can save some good money.

The situation is different from XBox players, because most PC players are already invested in the Steam ecosystem. I guess this is Microsoft's end goal, isn't it? Pushing people away from the Steam ecosystem, subtly. The total opposite of what Epic is doing, which is with brute force. If Microsoft can keep this up, we are entering an even more interesting era of PC gaming.

 

[lashman]

yeah, i'm pretty sure i'll never subscribe to any of that stuff ... i like to own my games - i'm weird like that

 

[Kurt Russell]

I prefer to own my games, but in some situations I'm definitely going Game Pass (when the price here sucks, which is sadly becoming the norm).

 

[Nzyme]

Yeah - with rare exceptions, I'll just game pass a bunch of games and MS exclusive titles, until the price is not worth it - likely when xCloud is launched.
Eg today I bough Master Chief collection on Steam, while still having gamepass - because I know I'll ditch gamepass eventually

Note that xCloud will be integrated into gamepass sub.
Gamepass PC is different to gamepass console, so I expect the same for xCloud, also catering to PC better.

Also in today's Verge interview:

Microsoft is only saying “next year” for Windows 10 support, but it’s more likely we’ll see it appear in the next few months than toward the end of 2020. I asked Kareem Choudhry, the head of cloud gaming at Microsoft, about how the company will handle keyboard and mouse support for Xbox games when they’re streamed via xCloud to a PC. Not many Xbox games support keyboard and mouse right now, and there’s a challenge getting developers involved. “What you’re saying is absolutely true for Xbox game content right now, but there will be more types of content,” says Choudhry.

That sure sounds like Microsoft is planning to stream PC games through xCloud in the future, but Choudhry is only hinting at this future right now. Microsoft isn’t committing to exactly where xCloud will go here.

This is also a good way for them to cater to the PC audience, rather than copying exactly what is on consoles, and being supportive of PC exclusive endeavours and content.

It perhaps wouldn't be surprising if xCloud is one of the vendors joining nVidia and perhaps EA on Steam's integrated Cloud Gaming offerings alongside its own service

 

[texhnolyze]

I prefer to own my games, but in some situations I'm definitely going Game Pass (when the price here sucks, which is sadly becoming the norm).

Yeah, with the rising trend of regional pricing fuck ups, I just can't resist Game Pass anymore.

 

[PossiblyPudding]

yeah, i'm pretty sure i'll never subscribe to any of that stuff ... i like to own my games - i'm weird like that

I prefer to own my games, but in some situations I'm definitely going Game Pass (when the price here sucks, which is sadly becoming the norm).

Fully agree with these! I prefer to own my games.. well, as much as one can own a digital purchase I suppose. Though in the rare cases where the only other option is EGS, like Outer Worlds, then I'll play it on Game Pass.

 

[lashman]

Yeah, with the rising trend of regional pricing fuck ups, I just can't resist Game Pass anymore.

that's probably their plan ...

 

[Kvik]

I much prefer a subscription model which allows us to keep our own game files, much like Steam free weekend thing. Just revoke the license which is tied to the game client once the sub is lapsed.

I don't care much about cloud subscription model, or the gamepass model where the executables has been UWP'd. It's taking away the modding capabilities for these games and our sense of ownership because we're relying on corporations to keep these games available in the long run, and that is something I don't care much about either.

 

[NarohDethan]

Play on release day with GP, buy down the line / wait for Humble. Aint made of money

 

[Stone Ocean]

Zero interest in rentals. The price is nice but I want to play games at my own pace, without an expiry date.

 

[Arsene]

I have GamePass until 2022 but im still gonna buy my games on Steam. If Forza, Minecraft Dungeons and Halo Infinite come to Steam I'm throwing down money for all of them full price day 1.

But hey if Gamepass keeps getting EGS exclusives before Steam ill definitely play them there.

 

[Kurt Russell]

Play on release day with GP, buy down the line / wait for Humble. Aint made of money

This too, I'll buy Gears 5 down the line once it's 66% off+, same for Outer Worlds. I just can't pay the prices they ask for right now (or in the case of Outer Worlds, don't want to use EGS).

 

[Derrick01]

I've tried to warn people this would happen more and more often the more subs are pushed. It will change people's thought processes when it comes to games and judging the value on them and going by how other industries were affected by subs I don't believe it will be a good thing in the end.

As for me I have a pretty hard line stance for how I use subs and I won't deviate from it exactly to prevent myself from contributing to the problem. If I want a game I buy it, unless someone like Epic comes along and puts a wrench in those plans (Outer Worlds). I don't allow myself to think "this game may be good but it looks like gamepass fodder 3 months after release" (like people have done with Control on consoles). It's harmful to look at quality games and think they're not worth the price because they may hit a rental service months later. Those types of games can't exist solely on the pennies they get from individual $10 subs and hoping MS will hand out huge payouts to subsidize it forever.

 

[pahamrick]

For me it's a matter of available monthly income. There's lots of games coming out each month I'd like to play, and only so much $ to go around. So it's easier to drop a bit of money on gamepass here and there, play what I want to play, and if I really enjoy it buy it down the line on sale.

I'll do the same with the Ubi and Origin sub services. $15 every so often is a lot easier on my wallet than $60+.

 

[Li Kao]

Yeah, no hard stance (I voted 1 but the sentiment is more 3). I have less and less money and this leaves me the option to buy the game later at a discount.
I'm not made of money and if devs / pubs want to go die on this hill for a quick buck, that's on them.

But I'm not even sure subs have impacted my buying habits. I mean I didn't buy some great recent games because I couldn't, not because they could maybe appear on gp down the line.

 

[nofuckinidea]

Tbh with some luck, Humble Choice will be all I need for the next year. Maybe I subscribe to Gamepass for a month or two when there is a promo offer. I can't remember the last time I bought a game at full price on release.

 

[sauce]

Zero interest in rentals. The price is nice but I want to play games at my own pace, without an expiry date.

This is my issue with it too. When I'm in the mood to game, it's great, but I get dry spells of motivation pretty often.

I'm also at the point where I own most of the games I'd want to play, and the ones I don't get I can let go of. The only things that can shake me are jrpgs, most of which I can emulate.

 

[uraizen]

For games I don't know if I will like or wouldn't spend $60 on, I'll just use gamepass. For games I know I will like or plan to play a long time, I just flat out buy them.

 

[prudis]

as someone with limited time and less so ba budget ... so far gamepass was barely worth the effort to get few free monhts

 

[NarohDethan]

I've tried to warn people this would happen more and more often the more subs are pushed. It will change people's thought processes when it comes to games and judging the value on them and going by how other industries were affected by subs I don't believe it will be a good thing in the end.

I know everyone is different but I respectfully disagree.
Take for example The Outer Worlds. I really fucking hate Fallout, so I wasnt as eager to play it as everyone else. I played for two hours and I liked what I played, so lets consider the next scenarios:

1. I would have never, ever played TOW ($0 for Obsidian/MS)
2. Played for two hours and didnt like it ($10 for MS as I have Ultimate)
3. Played for two hours and liked it, probably will buy when released on Steam/Switch ($10 plus whatever I pay for those versions).

so it makes financial sense for me

 

[MJunioR]

I wouldn't say that XGP is affecting my purchasing decisions but other things - mainly EGS games that end up there or bad regional pricing - are pushing me to use it. Once the subscription price increases I won't have my subscription active every month but it would remain as an option I'd consider for an otherwise EGS exclusive or a game with bad pricing here.

 

[Alextended]

Their goal is to get your money any way they can.

Console physical? Check. Digital? Check. Subscription? Check. PC digital on a service people actually use as their own SUCKS? Check. Streaming? Check. Etc.

 

[PC-Patriot]

I am not a huge Microsoft fan (yeah yeah I use windows 10 hypocrite me much). However in the gaming space I treat anything from Microsoft like it is a plague carrying condom. Hell even though they are back on steam I still don't trust those fuckers. I have seen too much bullshit come from Microsoft over the years with regards to PC gaming to go "oh ya doing that now great bruv we're friends again".

As you can probably guess I have not "embraced" the gaming pass. I don't like the implications of it and I sure as hell do not trust the company behind it. Now sure right now it is a sweet deal and people would be crazy to not hop on board. But there will be a catch, there is always a catch. The catch may not be obvious now but somewhere down the line we are gonna be neck deep in shit before we know it.

I think of all the gaming policies and initiatives going on right now between Epic Game Store shit, Stadia streaming crap and Microsofts 12 pieces of silver pass it is the Game Pass that worries me the most. We are always told "If something is too good to be true then watch out" right now Gamepass has all the hallmarks of something that looks great now but boy are we gonna regret it later.

So yeah I still buy my games whilst it won't stop Gamepass from becoming a thing at least I know I won't have been a part of it.

 

[low-G]

I mean Master Chief Collection is something I'll be playing 10 years from now on Steam (considering I bought Halo 1 day 1 and still want to play it 18 years later). Renting it for 10 years would be $1200! It's much cheaper to buy it at $40!

 

[Derrick01]

I know everyone is different but I respectfully disagree.
Take for example The Outer Worlds. I really fucking hate Fallout, so I wasnt as eager to play it as everyone else. I played for two hours and I liked what I played, so lets consider the next scenarios:

1. I would have never, ever played TOW ($0 for Obsidian/MS)
2. Played for two hours and didnt like it ($10 for MS as I have Ultimate)
3. Played for two hours and liked it, probably will buy when released on Steam/Switch ($10 plus whatever I pay for those versions).

so it makes financial sense for me

It does work out for you but I also think your situation is a minority situation based on how people treat subs in other industries. They tend to treat things as more disposable and move on and forget about things faster. Shows get cancelled more often now after 2 seasons because streaming data says that's when people lose interest and when new people mostly stop coming in. Now obviously gaming is different in that there aren't really seasons so you can't cancel a game once it's out but you will see games morph to fit sub/streaming habits, most likely in the form of trying to keep "engagement" up longer and longer (so even more GaaS and online games).

 

[texhnolyze]

I've tried to warn people this would happen more and more often the more subs are pushed. It will change people's thought processes when it comes to games and judging the value on them and going by how other industries were affected by subs I don't believe it will be a good thing in the end.

As for me I have a pretty hard line stance for how I use subs and I won't deviate from it exactly to prevent myself from contributing to the problem. If I want a game I buy it, unless someone like Epic comes along and puts a wrench in those plans (Outer Worlds). I don't allow myself to think "this game may be good but it looks like gamepass fodder 3 months after release" (like people have done with Control on consoles). It's harmful to look at quality games and think they're not worth the price because they may hit a rental service months later. Those types of games can't exist solely on the pennies they get from individual $10 subs and hoping MS will hand out huge payouts to subsidize it forever.

I wouldn't go that far, but I think this kind of business model is just not sustainable for Microsoft.

For me, I'll simply enjoy it while it lasts.

I mean Master Chief Collection is something I'll be playing 10 years from now on Steam (considering I bought Halo 1 day 1 and still want to play it 18 years later). Renting it for 10 years would be $1200! It's much cheaper to buy it at $40!

You're right. For multiplayer games it just makes more sense to buy them. But for one and done SP games, Game Pass still offers the best value, at leat for me.

 

[NarohDethan]

I wouldn't go that far, but I think this kind of business model is just not sustainable for Microsoft.

I think it is, mind you. The trick is to keep you in long enough so you keep upgrading Windows, keep buying Xbox controllers and so on.

 

[Le Pertti]

The way I've been using Game Pass, is that I play games that I haven't bought on Steam for some reason but I intend in the future. So in my mind I'm playing a Steam game, just early haha. I make sure it has achievements so I can SAM unlock then on Steam.

But sure it has affected my purchasing in that I can demo games, like I've wanted Vampyr for a long time, tried it and didn't really get into it so I'll never buy it now even on Steam.

 

[Rando10123]

What I'm more worried about is games gets removed from Gamepass because the licenses expired. I hate this subscription future since it seems if there's a game you like and you want to go back to it, there's a possibility it'll get removed and I don't like that.

 

[Ascheroth]

It hasn't really affected my purchasing decisions, no.
I gave GamePass a try when they had the first 1 month for 1$ and I quickly realized that it's not for me.
I mean yeah, it's cheap but I noticed it affected my gaming habits in a negative way.

I felt like I needed to constantly play games on it because "I paid for it and it's time limited and not using it would be a waste" and found myself more rushing through games instead of going at my one pace for a fear of "what if I'm not done when my sub runs out?". Sure, that would be not as big a problem if I had more than 1 month but there's still the other kind of pressure: "when will they take this game off GamePass?".
And I really don't like being pressured to play a specific game - or play games at all, sometimes I'm in the mood for other entertainment.

It also didn't help that I like Steam's features - the community stuff, Steam Input, etc. and some of them don't really play nicely with UWP (the Steam Controller is my main controller right now, my old DS3 that I mainly used previously is starting to fall apart so I try to avoid using it).

So yeah, I'd rather pay a bit more to have Steam features available and have the peace of mind that I can play a game at my own pace and have the assurance that it's fine if I don't finish it right away, I can come back months or years later and it will still be there.

 

[Ge0force]

The main reason why I haven't subscribed to Game Pass yet, is because all games are fully encrypted. Since this locks out all mods, tweaks and community content, Game Pass feels like the console experience instead of pc gaming.

I also believe that subscription services will lead to more games being released in a bare bones state (à la Sea of Thieves), with shitloads of content being released afterwards to keep people subscribed. I also expect more aggressive monetizing to make up for the loss of revenue. Being an older gamer who witnessed the time that games were released as a complete package, this is not something I'm looking forward to.

So for now I will just keep buying my games on Steam and GoG. But if I ever run out of games to play, I make take a month or two to play Microsofts 1st party games. These games have a ridiculous high price on Steam, so unless they are heavily discounted it's unlikely that I will buy them.

 

[Wok]

It is too buggy to affect my habits.

 

[Line]

I'm not buying games available on Gamepass. In theory.

It's simple really. Videogames are nothing more than popcorn for the immense majority of them.
I don't spend full price on games very often to begin with, and Gamepass (and Humble Choice maybe) is definitely a nail in the coffin for 99% of 60€ games. Now that doesn't mean I won't buy games anymore, I know that Bloodstained will join the rest of the Castlevanias in my yearly playthrough of the franchise, so it's totally worth it.

But all those "it looks good but I don't know if I will love them for long" kind of games like The Outer Worlds? I'm really glad I did not buy it. Next year the same will apply to Luna Nights, looks good, super short, good enough for Gamepass.

Gamepass is the renting option that has been missing form PC gaming for... a while. Play games for a month, then sell them back, whatever, it was cheap enough if you were not happy. And for once the people behind the games actually make money from that.
Of course that option is not relevant when prices fall so far, plenty of games are more than worth a purchase on sale... Gamepass has a bunch of old games on it, that's cool and all, but that's not what makes it compete with a cheap Valkyria Chronicles steam key. It's only the recent stuff.

Humble could be its most serious competitor, it's more expensive, but not that much considering that you do keep all the games and can even sell the keys.
Models like this might throw a wrench in Microsoft's plans. On PC at least, if competition devalues games just as much as they do, it might be hard to justify the temporary aspect.

Oh and for multiplayer games, my answer would be "lol multiplayer games", they died with MMOs for me. Not gonna waste my time on Microsoft's MP garbage.

 

[texhnolyze]

What I'm more worried about is games gets removed from Gamepass because the licenses expired. I hate this subscription future since it seems if there's a game you like and you want to go back to it, there's a possibility it'll get removed and I don't like that.

At that point, the game may be already on deep sales on other stores including Steam. You can always buy it there.

I'm not buying games available on Gamepass. In theory.

It's simple really. Videogames are nothing more than popcorn for the immense majority of them.
I don't spend full price on games very often to begin with, and Gamepass (and Humble Choice maybe) is definitely a nail in the coffin for 99% of 60€ games. Now that doesn't mean I won't buy games anymore, I know that Bloodstained will join the rest of the Castlevanias in my yearly playthrough of the franchise, so it's totally worth it.

But all those "it looks good but I don't know if I will love them for long" kind of games like The Outer Worlds? I'm really glad I did not buy it. Next year the same will apply to Luna Nights, looks good, super short, good enough for Gamepass.

Gamepass is the renting option that has been missing form PC gaming for... a while. Play games for a month, then sell them back, whatever, it was cheap enough if you were not happy. And for once the people behind the games actually make money from that.
Of course that option is not relevant when prices fall so far, plenty of games are more than worth a purchase on sale... Gamepass has a bunch of old games on it, that's cool and all, but that's not what makes it compete with a cheap Valkyria Chronicles steam key. It's only the recent stuff.

Humble could be its most serious competitor, it's more expensive, but not that much considering that you do keep all the games and can even sell the keys.
Models like this might throw a wrench in Microsoft's plans. On PC at least, if competition devalues games just as much as they do, it might be hard to justify the temporary aspect.

Oh and for multiplayer games, my answer would be "lol multiplayer games", they died with MMOs for me. Not gonna waste my time on Microsoft's MP garbage.

Well said.

 

[fantomena]

I really like game pass, but mostly use it play a game to see if it's worth buying on Steam. I pretty much just use it for short "one and done" games.

 

[Alexandros]

It is probably Microsoft's end goal but as long as they keep trying to catch flies with honey I am perfectly fine with it. Right now they're offering a pretty compelling service in terms of value but still give people the option to buy the games on Steam if they so wish. As for my purchasing decisions, they haven't been affected yet because I am trying to clear my backlog and I don't have time for Gamepass on top of that. In the future I can see myself using Gamepass sporadically for games that are "one and done" while still buying games that I will play over an extended period of time.

Gamepass is the renting option that has been missing form PC gaming for... a while.

That's exactly how I've been using Origin Access.

 

[Eferis]

I like Gamepass a lot, but I also like Netflix/Criterion Channel a lot and I like Spotify/Apple Music a lot. But I still buy blu-ray and vinyls.

I'm using Gamepass just like I use all those other services. I think that the vast majority of entertainment is just like fast food, low to medium quality but kinda enjoyable and pretty fun, you gobble it up and pretty much forget about it soon after you're done with it. Gamepass is great for that sort of games.

But there are also many productions that are satisfying and enriching and that leaves you a slightly different person by the time you're done watching/listening to/playing them. They're relatively few compared to the amount of released products, but they're still quite a large number. For those, Gamepass is a nice way to try them out for a cheap price and maybe even complete them, but I'll always buy a copy to keep.

So I see Gamepass as a positive thing that can co-exist with how I usually see games.

 

[C-Dub]

I've subbed to Game Pass for Microsoft first party games, but those are the only definite skips as far as buying goes. Anything else I will buy if I want it, or if it's a victim of EGS fuckery (like The Outer Worlds, which isn't worth paying for anyway) then I will play it via Game Pass.

I find the service mostly good. I don't "wait" for anything to come to Game Pass but I have tried games I wouldn't have bought through the service. I generally think it's a value-add for me and lets me discover things I would be reluctant to pay for, and avoid paying full price for things that I'd have regretted (like The Outer Worlds, which I want to reiterate is pretty bland and unremarkable).

 

[RionaaM]

Zero interest in rentals. The price is nice but I want to play games at my own pace, without an expiry date.

Same here. I like to own my games, as much as one can own digital stuff, which is why I don't care about subscriptions. I just don't like the idea of paying for something that will vanish whenever I stop paying. But then again, I'm subbed to Netflix and Youtube Premium, so who am I to talk?

 

[m_dorian]

I am not against the idea of the gamepass model since it has it's uses and I might find one that suits my needs but I mostly prefer to own because it gives me a sense of control.

Since gamepass games are encrypted I ll avoid them for the time being.

 

[beep boop]

Somehow most of the games I played on GP have been things I did not find very appealing in the end. At the very least, it's letting me try out new stuff and branch out a little. But generally it's only confirmed that I tend to know what I like and what I don't. So far, it hasn't really affected my purchasing behavior and I am also of the position that I prefer having a degree of ownership rather than being tied to a subscription. This combined with the inability to transfer Winstore saves to other platforms makes me hesitant to invest a lot of time into a game there.

 

[Trisolarian]

I don't have WIndows 10 so it has not affected any choice of mine yet.

Microsoft's goal is marketshare and profit wherever and whenever they can get it. This is their only goal.

 

[fspm]

Has pass in its name? Easy pass. MS? Easy pass. Has pass in its name and MS? Easiest pass.

 

[inky]

I've subbed for a few months, but my habits haven't really changed much.

I buy 99% of my stuff late on Steam (at a discount preferably) and I treat Gamepass as a sampler so far. Can't complain about "renting" games like Forza or Gears when I wouldn't buy them otherwise. Haven't really finished stuff I did sub specifically for like Outer Worlds even.

I'm not sure how representative of a regular user I am tho. I have to stop myself from buying stuff because I end up not playing it, so a cheap sub helps. It also helps that it is cheap NOW. It won't be forever. I've had Dishonored installed since launch and never played it. Deus Ex MD the same. I keep around 30 games installed and get to then when I can, but things I play on the regular are things like Football Manager, Underlords lately, Slay the Spire, PoE etc. Those kind of time wasters fill most of my time AND a few of them rely very heavily on me being able to modify them (face packs for FM, mods, etc.) while the one and dones depend heavily on mood and time constraints.

So, I don't feel like being pushed away from owning everything on a certain ecosystem when I'm already pretty picky about it. To me, gamepass and stuff like streaming will always feel like supplementary services. If they make it worth my while then that's a bonus.

 

[Taborcarn]

It seems like a great deal for someone like me who doesn't really give a crap about "owning" the games. I rarely if ever replay games, I just beat one and move on to the next. I haven't done physical releases for a while so it really doesn't matter to me if a game that I've finished is either just taking up space on my disk, sitting on a list in my "library" to never be downloaded again, or goes back to being an option on a streaming service menu.

The only reason I didn't continue the sub after beating The Outer Worlds was that I have too many games I've already purchased sitting in my backlog and I'm trying hard to work through that. But once I make a big enough dent in it I'll probably come back to Gamepass, or a similar competitor.