Like, More Than They Already Are
Games as a streaming service isn’t a new concept by any means, but it seems like Microsoft is pushing harder than anyone else in this direction. A recent conference had the Microsoft CEO use the phrase ‘Netflix of Gaming,’ which feels pretty definitive. The actual quote follows below:
We describe it as, shorthand, ‘Netflix for games.’ We have as much a shot to build a subscription service as anybody else. We have a huge back catalog, which is we have our own games. We have a structural position in that we have both a console business as well as a PC business, which happens to be bigger than the console business when it comes to gaming.
Microsoft already has a pretty robust streaming type service set up via the Xbox Game Pass. I suppose they could take it a step or two further, but it remains to be seen just how far this idea will go. Maybe the end game is to have all their products available via streaming? Of course, if that were the case, one assumes the subscription fee for such a thing would be a fair bit higher than it is now. We’ll likely find out more as we get closer to their streaming console’s release. Scarlett? Matterhorn? Thunderdome? They have so many things coming out.