Xbox Game Pass for PC finally has a sensible name

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Microsoft announced the name change during The Game Awards.

There are three versions of Microsoft's Game Pass subscription: Xbox Game Pass, which gets you console games, Xbox Game Pass for PC, which gets you PC games, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which gets you access to both the console and PC libraries, plus the benefits of Xbox Live Gold.

It's a little confusing. The sequence of words "Xbox Game Pass for PC" only makes sense if you accept the premise that all games are Xbox games, and some Xbox games can be played on PC. It's like calling PC Gamer "Xbox Gamer for PC."

In the Game Awards skit embedded above, Microsoft announced that it's finally giving its PC subscription service a more sensible name. It'll now be called "PC Game Pass."

I already feel lighter after having typed it out once. PC Game Pass. Ah, much better. 

I was able to accept that there's an Xbox app on the PC, and that we had to type out "Xbox Game Pass for PC," but only because Microsoft finally started putting all its Xbox exclusives on PC, which earned it a lot of goodwill after its various disasters, such as Games for Windows Live. But I didn't like it.

Between this announcement and an appearance from Remedy's Sam Lake, it's been a decent Game Awards for me.

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Tyler Wilde
Tyler Wilde
Editor-in-Chief, US

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.