Xbox's efforts to improve and market its Game Pass subscription service has paid dividends in 2019. The service has been increasingly popular on Xbox One and has expanded to PC with Xbox Game Pass for PC, while Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offers a premium service uniting the platform for an impressive price. But Xbox's aspirations reach even beyond, to other console platforms like PlayStation and Nintendo apparently.
In an interview with Game Reactor, Xbox's Ben Decker described the extent of Xbox Game Pass' aims. "You know, we would like to see Game Pass on all platforms ultimately," is Deck's claim, though he acknowledges that it's both a longterm goal and that Xbox has no specific plans to that effect. Nevertheless, "we would love to see Game Pass really go everywhere."
While Decker's comments have to be read as sincere given his position as head of Xbox gaming services, such a reality doesn't seem possible in 2019. Game Pass is currently solely available on Microsoft platforms, via Xbox consoles and Windows-based PCs. The idea that Game Pass could come to a Nintendo or Sony console, or even Linux or Mac-based PCs, is difficult to imagine ever happening.
For one, all consoles are exploring their own different subscription services. Nintendo has Nintendo Online, Sony has PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now, Apple's adding Apple Arcade in 2019, and on PC there are any number of subscription services offering free games or services. And what's key about all of those services is that they aren't shared with any other platform. For Xbox Game Pass to come to another platform, that platform would be deciding not to offer a similar service themselves.
With all that said, every seemingly impossible effort begins with a single step. To hear a member of Xbox's leadership team say publically that Xbox wants to bring Game Pass to other platforms is the first step in making it a reality. Maybe Nintendo or Sony will hear that message, evaluate its potential, and consider exploring bringing Game Pass to the platform in a unique form. Xbox has shown a willingness to partner with both PlayStation and Nintendo in the past.
Source: Game Reactor