Microsoft's E3 press conference is over, and while fans got a good look at a bunch of upcoming games, Xbox's Game Pass service appears to be the real star of the show, as the page has gone down completely following the conference. It may be frustrating for fans, but it does mean that Microsoft can likely expect a fresh influx of Game Pass subscribers.
Microsoft dedicated a healthy portion of its show to the service as well as the new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which bundles Game Pass, for both console and PC, with Xbox Live Gold for $14.99 a month. It isn't a bad deal, especially considering the number of games currently on the service as well as those that will be there later on.
Microsoft announced numerous new titles that will be making their way to Game Pass, from smaller indie games to newer triple-a titles like Metro Exodus, which explains the burst in interest. The games should come as welcome additions to what is already an incredibly healthy line up of titles, and it's rapidly becoming evident just how important the service is to Microsoft as a company. It seems likely that Game Pass will be a key part of the Project Scarlett plans, Microsoft's next-gen console that was formally announced during their conference.
How long it'll take for Game Pass to come back online will likely be an indicator of just how many people are now interested in the service, though there are probably already network engineers working on the problem. Microsoft is running a special discount that grants users the first month of the Ultimate subscription for just $1, which likely explains why so many people are attempting to sign up right now.
Needless to say, the conference was impressive. It's disappointing that the Fable 4 rumors weren't true, or at least not worthy of a presence at E3, but overall the conference was solid, and at the very least did a good job of selling people on Game Pass. How Microsoft chooses to proceed from here, until the launch of their next-gen console in 2020, remains to be seen, but fans should bet on the journey being interesting at the very least.
