Several years ago, Microsoft launched subscription for video games: for a fixed fee per month, consumer can get hundreds of games. The idea isn’t anything new – if anything, it was based on successful strategies in other media industries. Take Netflix for example. became a unique phenomena in business world, as they were the first to fully capitalize on streaming of video content. Spotify was in similar position: they basically transformed modern music industry by making a service out of it.
Here’s more: Microsoft wasn’t even the first to try the similar scheme in gaming, actually: one of the biggest video game publishers in the world, Electronic Arts, began similar experiments back in 2015 which was quite successful, but it didn’t trigger revolution in the industry. However, Microsoft might be the only one who might truly succeed here, all thanks to multiple factors.
- Microsoft has one of the best cloud capabilities in the world, so they already have the required infrastructure.
- Microsoft recently has launched one of the only working streaming services, which allows every person (with stable Internet connection) with every device to try it, which puts it in similar position with Netflix and such.
- Microsoft initiated mass purchase of video games studios, which would help to provide a constant stream of new content in the future, which is crucial for the streaming service.
The end goal of Microsoft is to deliver video games through streaming, console hardware or Windows PC to every home, to become the most accessible choice for gaming with the vast gaming library on demand. They have everything to achieve this goal, but there’s also a lot of things than can go wrong, from technical limitations of internet connection to simple lack of interest from consumers. The time would tell if the world would see Netflix-like service in completely different and much more complicated environment.