Microsoft & Bethesda E3 2021 Showcase: 8 Ups & 4 Downs

Ups...

8. Xbox Game Pass Continues To Be The Best Deal In Gaming

The big winner of Microsoft's showcase was Xbox Game Pass, which somehow now seems like an even better value proposition with the sheer wealth of titles being released for the subscription service.

A stonking 27 of the 30 new games featured throughout the livestream are releasing day-and-date on Game Pass, in addition to existing games being added to the service, such as Yakuza: Like A Dragon being added immediately along with 10 more Bethesda games (including Doom, The Evil Within 2, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus).

Between the compelling indie titles on the way in the coming months and the titanic blockbuster games expected in 2022 or 2023, Microsoft surely had many players scrambling to sign up for at least a year of Game Pass, because the membership represents such ludicrous bang for your buck.

Ingeniously, rather than worry about shifting more hardware than Sony or Nintendo, Microsoft is all-in on making Game Pass the real platform. Going by their skyrocketing subscription numbers over the last year, it's really working.