Xbox Game Pass has just made public the October lineup, and the unexpected addition has sparked a conversation among the gamers. Among the new titles were Power Wash Simulator 2, Bounty Star, and the unanticipated shadow drop of Pacific Drive. These games are all already available for the subscribers. This is happening amid the price hike controversy that is upsetting some gamers.
The official Xbox Game Pass Twitter account shared a pictorial representation of three games, and in the accompanying tweet, stated, “they’re ready when you are! (slid a surprise in there too).” The title of Pacific Drive is likely the surprise, and surely the community is not ignoring it. A very much delighted player, for instance, wrote: “Pacific Drive? WHAT! That’s awesome. I have been waiting for the title to be available on Xbox for so long. And then it’s on GamePass…..extra!” while another simply said “Been waiting for pacific drive” with a clear demonstration of enthusiasm.
Nevertheless, the good news is not for all. The announcement is made at a hard time for the Microsoft subscription service so that the critics call it an impossible scenario since Game Pass Ultimate had its price hiked recently. One person stated it very simply: “And they want $30 a month for this shit. No chance”; another user shouted, “I just ended up buying the said games rather than renting them for $360 a year. Power washer 2 is $24.99 and pacific drive is $29.99 definitely cheaper than $360 a year.”
The numbers speak for themselves – it’s $360 a year if you pay $30 every month, and that definitely seems to be the case for a lot of gamers who would rather buy individual games than subscribe. One more player argued: “with the price increase, I and a lot of others think it’s just not worth it anymore” whereas another one proudly stated “Nope, I canceled my subscription” just after the announcement.
Despite all this, there are still a great number of individual games creating a buzz. Power Wash Simulator 2 is attracting a whole lot of players, with one of them asking if it’s “Such a good game to listen to podcasts or YouTube videos while you complete the jobs” and another one sharing his/her positive opinion by saying “Loving power wash simulator 2 so far.” The game Bounty Star was also mentioned, with one user saying they are “Really interest in bounty star,” and others are just curious to know what the third game in the image is.
The negative comments reveal the presence of different groups within the PlayStation community. Some gamers are still very happy and content with new features that come along with high subscription costs, while others feel that the whole issue has been unfair for them. The problem was possibly best encapsulated by one commenter: “I’ll definitely enjoy pacific drive during my last month as a subscriber! It’s a shame it came to this, but it is what it is. Nothing personal, it’s just business.”
It is quite interesting how the scenario is so different when compared to Microsoft’s overall strategy. The tech giant has been marketing Game Pass as the Netflix of gaming but the recent price hikes seem to be a way of retracting and seeing how much the market will stand. Interestingly, some comments even linked the price hikes to conspiracy theories surrounding the gaming industry where one user claimed “Microsoft wants to force gamers to fund their AI ambitions and other spying projects they’re putting into windows.”
At the same time, technical issues were also mentioned in the comments. One frustrated user wrote “I CANCELED MY SUBSCRIPTION AND YO MOFOS KEEP CHARGING MY CREDIT CARD. AND IN THE MENU, IT SAYS I HAVE NO ACTIVE SUBSCRIPTION. DO YOU WANT ME TO SUE?” raising concerns about possible backend issues related to subscription management.
Different viewpoints from around the world were also reflected – a Brazilian user wrote in Portuguese about the price, and his message can be roughly translated as “120 a month for me to pretend to wash a car, the subscription is only going to get bigger because next I want to pretend to wash a house” with sarcastic excitement.
In spite of the controversies, the games are at least reputable. Especially the new Pacific Drive is seen as a good addition, one player has called it “a superb game for sure” and another has dropped “Thanks a lot!! Keeper, Ninja Gaiden 4, Pacific Drive, Ball x Pit – my October is more than covered” accompanied with fire and heart emojis.
The timing of the announcement is basically strategic – followed the price hike announcements but just before the price increase end for the most users. It feels like Microsoft is saying “Don’t be too upset with us if we raised the prices; just check the fresh titles!” Whether that approach will yield positive results remains a question mark doubtful in the hearts of those who still wish to play, while others have already left.
Nonetheless, the whole discussion surrounding Game Pass has dramatically changed over the past few months. What used to be the most praised deal in gaming is now being scrutinized and criticized more. The service still plays a big role in saving hard-core gamers who play multiple titles each month, however, casual players might find the new pricing less convenient.
As the holiday season and more significant releases are approaching, it would be interesting to see how this played. Would Microsoft change its tactics if there was a considerable drop in subscribers? Or would they continue to bring bigger day-one releases to justify the higher cost? Only time will tell, but for now, subscribers are given some solid options with October’s lineup regardless of how they perceive the price changes.
The mixed bag of reactions to this announcement portrays quite accurately the status of Game Pass – still providing quality content, but the skepticism around it has grown like never before. It is a transitional phase for the service, and how Microsoft traverses the course could ultimately determine the fate of game subscriptions in general.
