Xbox Game Pass is an antidote to everything needing to be a live service game, Phil Spencer says Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Xbox Game Pass is an antidote to everything needing to be a live service game, Phil Spencer says "It wraps a game inside of a service." News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 14 Nov 2019 77 comments Xbox Game Pass provides a space for games which do not try and be the only thing you play, forever. Games which you can finish in a week, or even in a single afternoon. That's according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, speaking during a briefing to press at X019 earlier today attended by Eurogamer. As game budgets increase, Spencer said he had seen many developers try and turn to the live service model in order to recruit profits. Xbox Game Pass, he argued, was one way to combat that need - as its subscription service let people try and play a wider menu of games, and developers receive revenue for this. "We see Game Pass as a really critical way to bring new games to new players with a business model that just has more approachability to more players," Spencer said. "We see players ready to take risks on new games and genres because when you're already in the subscription it's as easy as clicking on something, downloading and starting to play." Xbox Game Pass subscriptions have doubled year on year, Spencer noted, likely aided by the addition of a PC version of the service. "One of the things I was watching over the last few years is you saw many games and studios chasing service-based games that felt perpetual and felt like they had to last forever to recoup the investment big publishers and studios were making. "The nice thing about Game Pass is that it wraps a game inside of a service itself. So a game can just be a game, and it's nice to play games with a beginning, middle and end. "And as a subscription we can support those kinds of games, and in fact a lot of the games our first and third-party partners are working on take advantage of the fact they don't have to carry the service themselves. They can just live within it." Watch on YouTube Tonight we saw announcements such as Grounded from Obsidian which look to fit that description. And from third-parties, Spencer was able to confirm a raft of back catalogue releases from Japanese publishers. "Yakuza is coming to Xbox for the first time - not only Xbox but coming as part of Xbox Game Pass," Spencer said. "[That includes] Yakuza Zero, Yakuza Kiwami, Yakuza Kiwami 2." Around 50 titles were announced for Xbox Game Pass in total, including a library of Final Fantasy titles. Separately, there was even talk of cross-platform Final Fantasy 14 on Xbox in the future. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 11 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store