Microsoft's E3 showcase isn't going to be all about the consoles this year: the PC is getting some love too, including details on how Xbox Game Pass is going to work on PC. It's officially coming, and it's going to be at least somewhat different from the version available on consoles. "We designed a service specifically for the needs of PC gamers and PC game developers," Xbox head Phil Spencer wrote in a press statement today. "It’s called Xbox Game Pass, just like the original, but it’s a new experience that we are building together with the PC community."
The basics are the same, starting with a library of more than 100 games from publishers including Sega, Paradox, Bethesda, Deep Silver and Devolver. You'll be able to play as many of those games as much as you want for a monthly fee, with new games added every month, and Microsoft's own games will also be included right when they're released.
What we don't know right now is how much Game Pass on PC will cost, or when it's going to be available. "We look forward to sharing more at E3, including the great games coming to the library, as well as more details on when and how you’ll experience the new Xbox Game Pass service for PC gamers."
Game Pass subscribers will also get a 20 percent discount when buying games included in the pass (and 10 percent on DLC), though the caveat is that discount is on buying games from the Microsoft Store. Not a surprise, but also not exactly our go-to choice for buying PC games. Maybe Spencer will toss in the announcement of a nicely redesigned store during E3 to sweeten the deal.
The Game Pass details weren't the only pre-E3 PC news Microsoft dropped today. Possibly even more exciting is that Microsoft is bringing more of its first party games to Steam as Win32 games. Read more about what that means here.
