In what could prove a major leak ahead of tomorrow's Xbox E3 2019 press briefing, screenshots from an ongoing beta of the all-new Xbox app on PC are leading to rampant speculation. Microsoft has promised to replace the Microsoft Store on PC with a gaming-focused alternative for some time now, and now the Xbox PC app looks near ready. Over a dozen screenshots from an ongoing beta of the app have been made available online, confirming the change to a Battle.net style launch strictly for PC games.
Within the Xbox PC app is a tab specifically for Game Pass, confirming that Game Pass will be coming to PC in a broader capacity than simply supporting Play Anywhere titles. Screenshots within the Game Pass tab tease something especially interesting. On the profile page for Hello Neighbor is a label that reads "Included With XGP," likely meaning Xbox Game Pass, and below it is a button reading "Play With Game Pass." In other words, PC Game Pass subscribers could have access to Xbox Game Pass games, though whether with a standard Game Pass subscription or with the Ultimate version isn't clear.
The leak also provides a glimpse of Game Pass titles that will be available for PC, however, only Play Anywhere titles are currently listed. There are some games listed with a "Coming Soon" label, though, including the Halo: Master Chief Collection, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and Gears 5. Any PC-specific Game Pass titles planned for Game Pass will have to wait to be revealed as Xbox pleases.
The final rumor worth mentioning tied to this latest leak has to do with new Microsoft acquisitions. There are some reports that Microsoft will announce at least one acquisition during tomorrow's E3 2019 keynote and today's screenshots from the Xbox PC app have led to some speculation. One piece of advertising shown features a number of Game Pass game logos, all of which appear to be first-party titles or second-party like Age of Empires -- except one. For some reason, ARK: Survival Evolved's logo is also shown. Studio Wildcard, which has its headquarters just over the 405 highway from Microsoft's own Redmond campus, could be Xbox's next buy.
Just to recap, a leak of over a dozen screenshots show a beta version of the Xbox PC app that will replace the gaming side of the Windows Store. The app's Game Pass tab hints that there will be a unified subscription between PC and Xbox though it isn't clear if it's the base subscription or Ultimate. It also hints at some of Microsoft's upcoming exclusives coming to Game Pass on PC. And finally, there's a clue that Microsoft could announce the acquisition of Studio Wildcard, developers of ARK, at E3.
Microsoft's Xbox E3 2019 press briefing airs Sunday, June 9, at 1:00 pm PT and is certain to be an impressive show. It's difficult to discern the truth from all the rumors, and there have been a lot of rumors, but either way, Microsoft's 2-hour press briefing should be a whole lot of fun.
Source: ResetEra