Tell your friends and family about Game Pass because Xbox sure isn't going to

Barring the occasional trip to the cinema, we almost exclusively watch movies on streaming platforms now. The same applies to most TV shows, and when's the last time you bought a physical copy of an album on release day when you can just stay at home stream it on Spotify?

There are subscription services for video games too. If you're not entrenched in the gaming world like some of us, though, you might not have realised. There are a few streaming platforms dedicated to letting subscribers play games without having to buy them first, the industry leader being Xbox Game Pass.

If you're a gamer reading this, thinking “Well, yeah, everyone knows about Game Pass”, I promise you, they don't. Ask a non-gamer, even a casual gamer, if they know about Game Pass. If they do, ask them if they know what it offers and how it works. If it's a yes on that front too, ask them if they subscribe. When they reply no, ask them why not?

Xbox launched Game Pass in 2017 and aimed the service at those who love video games, because of course. Eight years later, that focus still hasn't changed. That's despite everyone whose lives revolve around video games having either already signed up, deciding they don't want to sign up, or previously signing up and eventually unsubscribing. While it's a good deal, the price has gone up a lot so if you fall into that final category, I get it.

Xbox has never bothered trying to grow Game Pass beyond that easily obtained base, and I can't for the life of me understand why. All it needs to do is run an ad campaign that makes it clear to anyone and everyone that Game Pass is like Netflix for games. A simple and true staement that everyone can understand, and one that will almost certainly have casual and non-gamers flocking to the service to try it out.

Instead, Xbox gives off the impression that it doesn't want the masses to know about Game Pass. At time it even feels like it's gatekeeping the service that could and should be the driving force behind making Xbox an industry leader. When Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 released last year, the first Call of Duty title to ever release on Game Pass day one, I saw ads for it during every break on Amazon Prime for weeks.

You'd think having the latest installment in the biggest video game series on the planet ready and waiting on your already very good gaming subscription service would be something worth shouting about, but apparently not. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the note informing viewers that the new CoD was on Game Pass was a blink and you'll miss it moment.

There was also the whole “This is an Xbox” ad campaign, designed to flaunt the fact that you don't need an Xbox or even a high-end PC to play Xbox games any more. Again, that felt like it was targeted at those of us who are already well aware of what Game Pass is. The campaign convinced me to buy an Amazon Fire Stick and I've been using it to play Game Pass games ever since. Great news for Amazon who made some money out of me. Xbox, on the other hand, did not, since I was already subscribed to Game Pass.

As it stands, I don't know anyone who doesn't effectively dedicate their lives to video games who has Game Pass, or even knows about it, other than those I've told. A very casual gaming friend of mine was floored when I showed them Indiana Jones and The Great Circle running on a Fire Stick (they checked with me four times that they didn't also need an Xbox before signing up for Game Pass to try it themselves).

Even people who own Xbox consoles aren't really aware of just how good Game Pass is. A close friend of mine with an Xbox One had never even considered it until I told them what it includes. Which begs the question, why am I out there doing Xbox's job for them?

The short answer is because outside of work, I don't have many gaming friends, and telling them about Game Pass is the easiest way to get them into it, and you should do the same. I know from personal experience that many of you reading this likely assume everyone knows about Game Pass, but they don't, because, despite having one of the biggest companies in the world behind it, Xbox is terrible at marketing.

I've harped on Xbox because Game Pass is the best gaming subscription service out there by quite some way, but it's far from the only company guilty of this. PlayStation Plus is another great platform that not only includes a Game Pass-style library, but also free games for you to claim and keep each month. Try to explain its tier system to someone who might benefit from it, however - if you even understand it yourself - and watch them, understandably, glaze over within ten to fifteen seconds.

I know I called Game Pass the Netflix of video games, but Netflix is technically the Netflix of video games, kiind of, as it has its own still very young video game section. A pretty good one too, although you wouldn't know that from looking at it. The mobile game slop floats to the top, leaving genuinely great games like Hades and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (yes, you can play GTA: San Andreas on your phone right now if you have Netflix) largely undiscovered by its hundreds of millions of subscribers.

As for Game Pass, I don't know if it's a case of there being too many cooks in the kitchen, one department doing one thing and then another doing the opposite, or Xbox simply not believing anyone but hardcore gamers would be interested in Game Pass. They can be, but they actually need to be told about it, and apparently that's on us rather than the people running it.

If you have people in your life who play games, used to play games, or who you'd like to play games with but they need a way to do it that doesn't require them to buy a shiny new £500 console, tell them about Game Pass. No, Xbox doesn't deserve it, but don't do it for Xbox. Do it for you, your friends, and the countless developers who use Game Pass to try and get more people playing their stuff. Most of them deserve better.

If you enjoyed my rant about Xbox neglecting Game Pass, check out my first article for the site all about what Astro Bot means to me.

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