Xbox Game Pass. You know what that is, right? How about Xbox Game Pass for PC? Microsoft seems pretty concerned that you might not understand the latter bit of that concept, and has been making some changes to ensure maximum brand recognition. It’s just called PC Game Pass now, and Microsoft has just confirmed – or reconfirmed – a whole bunch of games coming to the service.
The switch to ‘PC Game Pass‘ branding was announced around the Game Awards last night, The service is still $10 USD per month on its own, or $15 bundled with its console counterpart as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. This is essentially just a logo change, but it comes as Microsoft is putting an increasing emphasis on PC Game Pass with computer-focused games like Age of Empires 4 and Total War: Warhammer III, alongside marketing pushes like “game pass has PC games“.
While PC Game Pass offers pretty similar benefits to the console version, it’s never had complete parity. Outriders, for example, launched earlier this year into Xbox Game Pass on day one – but it only hit PC Game Pass months later. Between those sorts of oversights and the continued (but improving) issues with the PC Xbox app, Microsoft is right to give this version of the service a bit of extra attention.
Alongside the rebrand – and as part of an ID@Xbox stream today – Microsoft also confirmed a bunch of upcoming PC games coming to Game Pass, including STALKER 2. (STALKER 2 had already been announced as a console Game Pass title, but never for PC.)
We couldn't stop him #TheGameAwards https://t.co/u07ZM53No5
— PC Game Pass (@XboxGamePassPC) December 10, 2021
Some of the other highlights include Weird West, a new immersive sim built by former Arkane devs, and Sniper Elite 5, which was just announced today.