Microsoft
- The biggest Microsoft game, "Minecraft," is finally headed to Microsoft's Netflix-like game subscription service.
- It's the latest major Microsoft-published game to head to the subscription-based Xbox Game Pass service.
- Unlike some games on the service that cycle in and out of availability, "Minecraft" will remain available in perpetuity to Game Pass subscribers. It arrives on April 4.
Microsoft is adding another crown jewel to its celebrated, Netflix-like Xbox Game Pass service: "Minecraft."
The game gets added to the Xbox Game Pass game library on April 4, and will stay on the service going forward.
"What's the Xbox Game Pass?" you ask? It's sort of like Netflix, but for Xbox games.
You pay a single monthly fee - $10 per month - and you're given access to more than 100 mostly excellent games, including "Forza Horizon 4," "Crackdown 3," and "Fallout 4." Rather than streaming said games, À la Netflix with movies and TV, you download those games directly to your Xbox One.
"Crackdown 3"/Microsoft Studios
"Crackdown 3" launched earlier this year and cost $60. You could also play it on day one with an Xbox Game Pass subscription.
Like Netflix has its own stable of shows and movies that never leave Netflix, such is the case with Microsoft-published games on the Xbox Game Pass service - and that means franchises like "Halo," "Gears of War," "Forza" and, now, "Minecraft."
And there are loads of other great games on Xbox Game Pass, including newer titles like "Just Cause 4" and older titles like "Lego Batman 2."
Given the selection, and the relatively low monthly price, Xbox Game Pass is one of gaming's best deals.
Let's say you bought just one of the games above - "Just Cause 4," which came out on December 4, 2018. Amazon's selling it right now for $35 ... or you could pay $1 and play it as much as you want for the next month, because it costs only $1 for the first month of a Game Pass subscription.
And that's before we start talking about the literally dozens of other excellent games available, or even "Minecraft" itself - if you buy it for Xbox One today, it costs $20. But starting on April 4, you could just get an Xbox Game Pass subscription instead.
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