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| Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass is on the rise |
Microsoft's recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission provides a glimpse into the growth of Xbox Game Pass.
Compared to the company's last fiscal year, the total number of subscribers to subscription services increased by 38%.
Although there are no exclusive products like Halo, this is a nice increase over the previous year. However, the company's internal target of 48% growth was not met.
This illustrates the importance of these massive Xbox Game Pass game releases. It also explains why the company spends so much on acquisitions.
The software giant expected overall growth to slow in fiscal year 2021. In fiscal year 2020, Xbox Game Pass subscription services grew 86%, exceeding the internal target of 71%.
However, since there are no Halo and other notable or exclusive Xbox Game Pass releases during this reference period, the company knows that the service will not repeat its 2020 expansion in 2021.
Although Xbox Game Pass includes some editions like The Ascent and Outriders, they are not enough to grow the Xbox Game Pass subscriber base by more than 50%.
"We're redefining the way we distribute, play and watch games with Xbox Game Pass," the company said. By acquiring ZeniMax Media, we have made the 20 most popular games in the world accessible through Xbox Game Pass.
With Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite, that growth can pick up quickly this holiday season. Except that the company can ship games like Starfield in November 2022 and beyond.
Microsoft is currently investing a lot of money in growth. But you know it takes significant growth to justify its investment.
Microsoft has more than 100 touch-screen games
The company now has more than 100 Xbox Game Pass games that support Xbox Touch controls. The software giant is adding 13 games to its touch screen games list. The total number of results is more than 100 games.
Touch gaming allows Xbox Game Pass members to stream games without control on Windows PCs, iOS devices, and Android phones and tablets.
Developers have created custom controls on multiple screens and added other controls to improve the touch screen experience only when playing games.
Touch controls started when xCloud was released a year ago when it only supported Minecraft Dungeons.
Microsoft expanded to 10 touchscreen games a month after the launch of xCloud. Since then, new games have been added every month.
The other 13 games support touch, and you can find a full list of games on the Microsoft Xbox website.