Xbox Game Pass — the sword of Damocles

“The first taste is free” a phrase that comes to mind when considering resubscribing to Xbox Game Pass.

Microsoft is behind Sony in market dominance, especially in Europe. How do they get people to switch sides? Free games.

Well, not free, but offering a monthly subscription that’s on offer at £1 for three months. But once you’re subscribed and getting the “free” games, then what’s the problem?

The reason I cancelled my subscription is because it felt too much like a bait and switch. I didn’t like waiting for the other shoe to drop and an announcement of previously available games “transitioning out of availability”.

In an ever-growing digital marketplace, the concept of ownership needs to be more clearly defined. Steam’s commitment to honour purchases is nice, but what happens when they get bought out by Microsoft? Those commitments weren’t legally binding.

My view is to take full advantage of any company loss leading agendas while keeping offline backups of anything you consider dear.

Meanwhile, I’ll take that subscription money and donate it to a cause that genuinely believes in game preservation archive.org