Xbox Game Pass has been a revelation in the gaming industry, entirely shaping the direction of future game releases. With new subscriptions, services give us better deals whilst also driving us further away from the days of physical releases.
Although the times of old are changing, it has revealed some very interesting habits in the way modern gamers play.
What Did Xbox Reveal?
Citing research carried out in December 2020 with 14,000+ gamers, Xbox revealed some interesting information.
Starting with Game Pass claims specifically, it says that members are 18% more likely to play with friends and 19% more likely to play with family once a week, compared to non-members.
There are a few possible reasons for this. Those on Game Pass have a much larger library at their fingertips and the sunk cost fallacy of buying into Game Pass makes people play games they might not usually buy.
Things that involve a high level of cooperative play might be a nice break from their usual games, explaining why they play them.
Moving from this, they also revealed that 53% of gamers in Europe play multiplayer games at least once a week.
Talking about subscription services, 95% of gamers polled have an entertainment subscription and 68% of them have an active gaming subscription.
When we include those using other people's subscriptions through a family account, that number is reported to be as high as 83%.
What Do These Figures Mean?
These figures mean a lot for the future of gaming. Game subscription services are digital-only and the figures of people playing only continue to grow.
As physical units drop and digital units sell more, game discs might become rarer with time. Taking the plunge a generation or two early, the PS5 offers an entire model without a disc tray where the Xbox One had a similar idea.
Microsoft, Sony, and Valve are all becoming more digital with time. The only one who hasn't caved yet is Nintendo. One can only wonder how long they will stay that way