Gears Tactics
Image: Steam

One of the best things about the Xbox ecosystem is Xbox Game Pass. It's an affordable subscription-based service allowing you to play literally hundreds of games – and quite a lot are brand new releases.

In an interview with Venture Beat recently, The Coalition operations director Mike Crump explained from a development perspective how Xbox Game Pass allowed Xbox Game Studios to take risks, as they're no longer tied to a single metric for success.

We have certain expectations, and we will measure against those in terms of unit sales. But Game Pass just frees us up a little bit from having to be solely reliant on those kinds of metrics for success... But when we're deciding whether to make a game or not. It's nice to have all those different metrics for success and not be tied to just one measure of 'Did you sell a certain number of units at a certain price point or not?' because I think it really allows us to take risks and try things that we wouldn't otherwise.

Xbox marketing general manager Ben Decker added to this – mentioning how Microsoft compares Xbox Game Pass to a movie theatre where you can view (or in this case, play) art house (indie) or blockbuster projects.

First-party Xbox games like Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon 4 have thrived on Game Pass, and more recently we've seen games like Bleeding Edge added. Next week, The Coalition's Gears Tactics will be released (via PC), and next month, Minecraft Dungeons makes its debut. Even upcoming third-party releases like Streets of Rage 4 are embracing Microsoft's digital service.

Are you glad Game Pass allows developers to take more risks? What games have you played that you normally wouldn't? Leave a comment down below.

[source venturebeat.com, via windowscentral.com]