ResetEra (spotted by Windows Central) appears to have posted a survey asking if players would be willing to pay less than the Xbox Game Pass monthly fee in exchange for some restrictions.
If players pay a lower price, they would have access to first-party Xbox games on a delayed basis, possibly 6 months. A reduced tier would also include integrated ads, but how these ads would work is unclear.
It does suggest Microsoft is looking for ways to expand its Game Pass subscriber base, which Xbox head Phil Spencer has admitted has slowed down on the console despite strong PC adoption.
Microsoft recently claimed as part of the UK’s investigation into its proposed Activision acquisition that it has an installed base of 63 million consoles as of January 2022.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated in a web call earlier this year (transcribed by VGC) that Game Pass usage is growing across all platforms.
PC Game Pass subscriptions increased 159% year over year, and cloud gaming is transforming how games are distributed, played, and viewed. More than 20 million people have used the service to stream games to date.”
The service generated around $2.9 billion in revenue in 2021, just on consoles.
