Xbox Game Pass 'Standard' goes sub-standard: Games like Starfield, Diablo 4 go retroactively missing

Windows Central writes: "Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service takes a big dip in quality and value for money."

[piroh]

"Xbox Game Pass Standard is actually missing a ton of games that previously existed in the Xbox Game Pass Console tier, including first-party heavy hitters like Starfield, Forza, and Diablo 4."

They should call it Xbox gamepass Sub-standard, it's a cool name though.

[GamerRN]

Yeah and they should call the entry level PS plus "PS Minus", cause you don't get any of the collections

[The Wood]

I see you're not coping too well. We're here for you bro as we know its been hard for the die hards this gen, especially the past few months

[Juancho51]

Dont worry young one, it’ll all be over soon.

[GamerRN]

Just doing what the original poster did 🤷

[Einhander1972]

I can't believe they took games from people, I didn't realize that was how it was going to work... I thought it was just going to be going forward.

It takes some balls to do something like this, they do not respect their customers at all.

And when you look at the way the service has declined in the past few years with things like going from getting 15-20 games to getting 7'ish per month. As well as the games which used to be high profile games from major publishers to indies from developers releasing their first or second games.

If they are willing to go this far to take away games the standard tier is almost certainly going to get even worse.

[porkChop]

They didn't take games from existing console subscribers. This is only for new subscribers of the new "Standard" tier that just started being offered. Anyone that was on the original "Console" tier still has and will still get day one games as long as they keep their subscription. This is exactly how they said it was going to work.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Why are games that have already released being removed from Standard though, new subscribers or not? They've already released and therefore aren't "day one" anymore. Microsoft should not get a pass for this.

This again goes to show how unsustainable day one games were from the beginning.

[porkChop]

That's actually a fair point. They did say that 1st party games wouldn't *launch* on Standard, but I don't know if they said existing 1st party would get locked to Ultimate.

[Michiel1989]

i mean techincally they were still day 1, just not day 2 and 3
and it comes back on sundays

[MrDead]

You were only really renting those games and when renting games they can be taken away anytime. This is what MS wants, no consumer ownership, reduced consumer rights.

MS is letting its user base know, they're not your games

[XiNatsuDragnel]

They're screwing people over nice

[purple101]

So now you have to pay per month just for a list of 20 basic games

I got that for free just for buying a ps5.! And paying £36 a year ps+ that’s £3 a month with 2 small games included m, not £6.99 a month with no games

[PhillyDonJawn]

Don't think you comprehended it right.

[purple101]

“ Introducing Game Pass Core, featuring online console multiplayer, a curated catalogue of high-quality games, member deals, and more.”

Think I might have done mate

It’s a list of 20 rotating games. A small catalogue.

To call it game pass, is misleading even, after having it for so long with a bigger catalog, I’d even say that’s deceptive advertising!

[PhillyDonJawn]

It's basically Xbox Live Gold just a different name

[S2Killinit]

MS do whatever they want to them.

[The Wood]

its like they know they will accept the efferies without retortion

[ChasterMies]

It’s kind of weird that the chief advantage of Game Pass is day one games, and now the standard tier doesn’t have day one games. If you want to play games that have already been released, you can subscribe to PS+ Extra at a lower cost than Game Pass Standard. (And you’ll get day one releases on PS+ like “The Plucky Squire”). It is then insult to injury for Microsoft to then pull year old games from Game Pass Standard. If Xbox was my main console, I would drop all of Game Pass, spend my money on games on sale, and stick with free-to-play games that have free multiplayer.

[neutralgamer1992]

The original purpose of Xbox Game Pass was to give players access to brand-new Xbox games on day one, which was a huge selling point. However, with the cost of game development skyrocketing, it’s becoming clear that this model might not be sustainable unless the service charges something closer to $29.99 a month in the future.

Gamers are understandably frustrated because the price keeps rising, and it’s obvious that it will continue to do so as costs for everything involved in game production increase. Xbox, and Phil Spencer in particular, took a big risk by training their fans to expect first-party games on Game Pass right at launch. Now, a lot of players have stopped purchasing games entirely, waiting for them to appear on the service instead.

This has had a ripple effect: many publishers are opting to skip Xbox altogether because there’s less incentive for them to release on a platform where users are hesitant to buy full-price games. Meanwhile, Xbox players often say things like, “I’ll wait for it to come to Game Pass,” which only further complicates the situation for both developers and the Xbox brand.

[raWfodog]

“ unless the service charges something closer to $29.99 a month in the future.”

I’m sure that it’ll get to that price point eventually. Many die-hard Xbox fans here have suggested that GP Ultimate is easily worth more than what they are currently paying. I’m sure Phil knows that too lol.

[neutralgamer1992]

If Microsoft can manage to consistently release 2 AAA and 3 AA games every year, then the Game Pass service could definitely be worth it. But that’s a big if—Xbox has not demonstrated the ability to manage its studios well over the past 12 years.

Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Game Pass prices hit $29.99 before 2030. When people say the service is ‘underpriced,’ it catches the attention of the company, and naturally, they’ll consider raising prices. Let’s not forget they didn’t invest $80 billion to break even. What used to be a side project for Microsoft has now become a major priority. With that kind of investment, they’re expecting profits and immediate results

[Michiel1989]

its not a huge risk, its a proven method to get people in the door. Remember those door to door sales that offer you a cheap first time buy for something but you will have to subcribe for it and will manually have to cancel it if you want the deal, it's similar of that and honestly most subscription services, not just for games, do it or something similar just to get the customer through the door. First 3 months 50% off, 2 months free if you get half a year subcription, it's literally everywhere and if it didn't work, it wouldn't be because companies hate risks.

[DivineHand125]

Aren't those games over a year old? Why remove them.

[DarXyde]

Sounds like they're really leaning into the "Netflix of gaming" thing. In this case, they're gambling to see how their customers react.

Netflix told you "no more account sharing". People threatened to drop the service but ultimately caved and now they have more subscribers.

In this case, it looks (to me, anyway) like Microsoft is counting on their subscribers to upgrade.

... But if that's the case, it sounds like this was done quietly, so it's not like an ultimatum was given.

This is strange.

[gold_drake]

well, thats what we all feared would happen

[Destiny1080]

xbox game pass has know become xbox gold, no call of duty for you

[TheNamelessOne]

The only thing that changed was they removed the middle tier that gave you all the Gamepass games, but not online play. Nobody who wasn't already doing the ultimate tier were going to be getting CoD either way.

[PRIMORDUS]

Keep paying for subs for games you will never own on any platform. Might as well throw your money out the window LOL. As the saying goes if buying isn't owning pirating isn't stealing. 😁 Torrent what you can if you have a PC, at least there you can own the games and have a nice collection. You can also support game devs, buy the game but make sure you can torrent the ISO to keep, double win🎮

[Tankbusta40]

Want to know why Sony is comfortable charging 700 dollars for a mid gen upgrade? Phil and his cronies making the xbox brand irrelevant

[Chocoburger]

Stop supporting subscriptions, make them crumble and fail. Teach all these shitty corporations who's truly interested charge. It should be us, not them!

[koga88]

Why are they acting surprised? They literally stated that this was going to happen if users were only paying for the basic Xbox Game Pass before which has now transitioned into Standard. Is it bad? Yes, but it's not like there was no warning. Those who have Ultimate will find that these games are still there and fully playable.

[franwex]

Xbox should probably ditch the paywall to play to be competitive

[X-23]

I don't see how they'll be able to sustain Call of Duty on game pass day one annually unless they get obnoxious in the shop with prices. Things may be subject to change a year or two from now.