Different strokes. Having access to a ton of games is nice but I’ve never been starved for stuff to play on my Xbox. I’m coming up on four weeks of straight Diablo 2. Before that Samurai Warriors 5. A Game Pass sub has no value to me.
Maybe if I was hard on cash but that’s not the case. I’m going to buy FH5 just like I buy every Forza game because I know I’ll get my money’s worth. If I was only going to play it for a few days, then sure a Game Pass sub makes sense. However, I know I will play it on and off for a couple years at least so just straight up purchasing it makes more sense. Same goes for Starfield.
Game Pass isn't about being hard on cash lol. I make excellent money and will still subscribe to Game Pass because it gives me access not just to the very biggest of games coming to Xbox, but also a bunch of other great games, many of which are also AAA titles, that I wouldn't have purchased simply due to the fact that they weren't as high on my must play list as whatever else I was playing at the time. My entire view on on gaming has changed. I'll only buy what isn't inside Game Pass if it's a game I must have right away. Otherwise, everything else coming to Game Pass, such as Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite (one of my most anticipated games), Starfield, Redfall, Stalker 2, Perfect Dark, Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2, The Elder Scrolls VI, Contraband, etc., I will be playing as a permanent subscriber to Game Pass.
This is what Microsoft is advertising. "Available Day One on Game Pass," "Get it Day One on Game Pass." If it's already coming to Game Pass, why the hell should I buy it even if I make amazing money? I've already paid for it as a Game Pass subscriber. Now games that I really, really feel are something special based on my time with them, I may go purchase anyway, or maybe I won't. That's the entire point. I don't have to buy many of these games because Microsoft already gives them to me as a Game Pass subscriber. This is the mindset they want Xbox eco-system gamers to have, which is why they are pushing Game Pass as hard as they are.