For years, especially back when console wars were a relevant discussion point, players have been boasting about Xbox’s Game Pass system and how it is the end-all point to their reasoning for backing the Xbox console. While this system is pretty flawless in theory, in practice it is a helpful tool that also robs their players at the same time! What’s the basis for my claim? Online Gaming.
Players who play on Xbox regularly know that to make the console worthwhile, they need to have an Xbox Game Pass access. This gives them the ability to play any game from the Game Pass library and access online gaming to play with other friends. That means if you want to play a game like Halo Infinite or Sea of Thieves, you simply head over to Game Pass, download it, and party up with your friends. But what happens when you purchase an online-only game from Xbox?
Let’s use Sea of Thieves as my example. A friend of mine owns this game on the Xbox console. This means that even without Game Pass, he is able to load up the game. But, in order to play Sea of Thieves he needs online access, which means he would need at least Xbox Live Gold. Xbox Live Gold is only $5 less than Game Pass, so is it a deal to own the game and have Xbox Live Gold or should they just have Game Pass? Perhaps the argument should be would it save money to just have the Game Pass rather than buying a game and getting Xbox Live?
So, ultimately, his owning of the actual Sea of Thieves game does nothing for him but places the burden of juggling the question between Xbox Live and Game Pass on him. How is this not a robbery to sell him a game he can’t play without more elements purchased directly from Xbox? Feels like buying a console, but then having to pay extra, in a separate purchase, for the controllers.
Think of it this way: there are titles on Xbox, as well as other consoles, that do not require an online subscription to play the game. Titles like Fortnite, Warzone, Overwatch 2, and Genshin Impact do not require an Xbox Live or PlayStation Plus subscription in order to play the game. Sure, they are free-to-play titles but that just further solidifies my point! Xbox can decide which games require an online subscription in order to play. So why force your community to pay for Xbox Live in order to play one of your own online-only first-party titles when they can play it on PC with no further cost required, other than the initial purchase? This doesn’t feel right.
My point here is that if the game is online only and has no way to be played without online access, it should not be sold without live access. To put it directly, Sea of Thieves should be sold only on PC since it can be played with free online access on that platform, but only available to access through Game Pass on the Xbox consoles. To sell a game and then ask for more money to actually play the game you just sold is nothing short of robbing the player!
Either I’m overthinking this concern or I have a valid point that isn’t thought of by others often. Drop a comment below and let me know, do you agree with me? Let me know why not if you don’t!
*Please note: I am not specifically pointing out Sea of Thieves as the problem. That game is just my example as I have second-hand experience with this issue. This argument applies the same for all online-only games that, without online access, will only show a menu screen.
