Earlier this week, just a week before Microsoft’s annual Inspire Partner conference, word got out that the company was cutting a long-standing perk for partners as part of an annual Microsoft Action Pack subscription available to them. For years and years, partners were able to gain “internal use rights” for software from Microsoft, meaning that with an Action Pack you could use the software to run your business. The idea apparently was to make it easy for partners to be running the Microsoft software they were helping to sell.

Some partners were quite incensed by the change in policy, which is to take effect at the beginning of Microsoft’s next fiscal year on July 1, 2020. In response to the complaints, company execs held a Partners only AMA webcast, attended by some 230 partners, according to a post by Mary Jo Foley outlining details of the webcast. According to Foley, “Microsoft officials held fast to their stance, saying the company had to make some trade-offs in order to deliver on other priorities, such as making it easier for partners to connect with more users, partners and sellers.”

Details of the costs and benefits of a Microsoft Action Pack are locked behind Partner Network gauntlets, but a 2014 post by RedmondMag, detailing a 44% rate hike in the costs of the Action Pack, revealed that for 10 licenses, partners would pay $475 per year. This included “full licenses for Windows desktops and servers, as well as other server products, such as SQL Server, Exchange Server, SharePoint Server and Lync Server…  internal-use seats of Office 365, Dynamics CRM Online and Windows Intune and Windows Azure usage credits…. (and) technical support, developer tools, marketing campaign materials and services and $100 in Bing advertising credits for the subscriber and $500 for the subscriber’s customers.”

So, for example, taking these 2014 numbers, a small business joining the Partner program could get full licenses for Windows, Office, and a number of server products, Office 365, Intune, and Azure credits (the post doesn’t detail how much credit was included), and technical support and other perks for 10 seats, for a price of less than $4/mo per seat. That’s an amazing deal, and it’s not beyond reason to believe that at least some companies realized that becoming a partner and subscribing to an Action Pack was an extremely cost effective way to get Microsoft products, regardless of any “partner” work they did (getting into the Partner program has some criteria, but it’s not that hard).

For whatever reason, Microsoft has decided to pull the plug on this perk of the program, and after next year partners are going to have to rethink their product licensing. For Microsoft, that may be the point, to cull out partners that are in the program for the cheap software as opposed to helping the company sell software and services more effectively.

We expect to hear some more about the kerfluffle at Inspire, but don’t expect Microsoft to back down on this one.

Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) this week began its public preview of support for FIDO2 security keys.

The implementation of FIDO2 technologies allows users to sign into devices and services without the use of a traditional password. In this case, developers will now be able to offer FIDO2 login solutions for Azure AD-connected apps and services.

“Every day, more and more of our customers move to cloud services and applications. They need to know that the data and services stored in these services are secure. Unfortunately, passwords are no longer an effective security mechanism,” Microsoft’s Alex Simons explained in an official blog post. “We know from industry analysts that 81 percent of successful cyberattacks begin with a compromised username and password. Additionally, traditional MFA, while very effective, can be hard to use and has a very low adoption rate.”

“It’s clear we need to provide our customers with authentication options that are secure and easy to use, so they can confidently access information without having to worry about hackers taking over their accounts. This is where passwordless authentication comes in. We believe it will help to significantly and permanently reduce the risk of account compromise.”

To coincide with the added support for FIDO2 security keys, Microsoft, today, also announced a partnership with Feitian Technologies, HID Global, and Yubico, three companies that specialize in the creation of modern secure login hardware using biometrics, NFC and USB security keys, and smart cards.

All three companies are currently offering discounts on their hardware for organisations interested in investing in bulk. Details on each offer can be found here.

Microsoft began working with the FIDO organization way back in 2013 and has since been an active party in developing newer and more secure technologies. The company’s own Windows Hello login method gained FIDO2 certification in May.

The video game, Fishing Planet, launched today for Xbox One and Windows 10 and it’s completely free for anyone to play on both platforms.

The game, as its title suggests, is a fishing game that lets players fish on a lake during different seasonal conditions and times of day.

Fishing Planet is impressively detailed with rods, lines, and reels that can break according to their actual specifications, lures and retrieves that act differently depending on the environment, and dynamic weather conditions.

Here’s the official game description:

Fishing Planet is a unique and highly realistic online first-person multiplayer fishing simulator developed by avid fishing enthusiasts for anglers to bring you the full thrill of actual angling! Choose your lures, make your trophy catches, discover new possibilities and sharpen your real angling skills anywhere, anytime with your friends!

The game is FREE to play and just a download away!

Fishing Planet isn’t just another game about fishing. Stunning eye-candy graphics, superb hydro and aerodynamics, realistic tackle behavior and damage based on actual simulation physics and, most importantly, fish with artificial intelligence for completely lifelike behavior make this a true-to-life fishing simulator that can help you improve your actual angling skills! The combination of unique graphics, realistic game physics and sophisticated AI will bring the realistic world of fishing directly to your screen!

Fishing Planet supports online multiplayer with up to 64 players and also plays in 4K Ultra HD when played on an Xbox One X console. The game is an Xbox Play Anywhere title which means that game progress can transfer between the Xbox One and Windows 10 versions.

Do you like fishing video games? Let us know what your favorites are in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Xbox gaming content.

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Fishing Planet

Developer:
Fishing Planet LLC

Price:
Free

The official Xbox Germany social media team sent Final Fantasy fans into a bit of a frenzy yesterday when a post on the Xbox Germany Facebook page showed footage from the Final Fantasy VII Remake video game, a title that’s only officially been announced for release on Sony’s PlayStation 4 console.

The post was quickly deleted, however, and Xbox Germany’s marketing communications and social lead, Maxi Gräff, has since tweeted out that the entire thing was one big misunderstanding.

“We did an internal mistake in the Social Team. We took the video off immediately. Sorry, no announcement on our side. Big apologies for this,” she said in a tweet.

In a separate tweet, she also explained exactly what happened and what led to the confusion. “It actually happened yes,” she explains. “In that video were multiple FF games and the remake happened to be in there by mistake from the editorial team where we didn´t check the exclusivity on the specific one. We make sure this doesn´t happen again.”

While a lot of Final Fantasy video games are on the Xbox One, there are also several that aren’t so Final Fantasy VII Remake’s absence isn’t too shocking or surprising for Xbox gamers.

Still, the game is highly anticipated by many who would love to play it on Xbox One so this retraction of what was initially thought to be an announcement or reveal will definitely feel like salt in a wound to those wanting the news to be real.

Do you think Final Fantasy VII Remake will get a release on the Xbox One? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Xbox gaming content.

Microsoft’s plan to leverage TV white space to bring low-cost broadband to areas is expanding to include service to four million people across Indiana, Illinois and Ohio by July 2022. The formal Microsoft Airband Initiative will partner with Watch Communications to deploy connectivity technologies, with an emphasis on wireless adoption to “50 counties in Indiana, 22 counties in Illinois and most counties in Ohio,” according to a recent press release from Microsoft.

“Every person deserves the same opportunity. But too often and in too many places, these opportunities are limited by where people live and their access to reliable and affordable broadband access,” said Shelley McKinley, general manager, Technology and Corporate Responsibility, Microsoft. “Microsoft is working across the country to close this gap. We’re partnering with Watch Communications to improve broadband access in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio and build on the incredible work being done by state and local leaders on this issue on behalf of their citizens.”

The specifics of Microsoft and Watch Communications’ approach include a mix of new and old technologies to bolster wireless connectivity through unused TV frequencies in lower population density or rural areas to improve support. Ideally, Microsoft’s Airband Initiative could help the combined $38.5 billion dollars agricultural value of farmers in the Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois areas.

Improved connectivity will bolster economic, educational and telehealth opportunities for everyone in the region, and could be particularly impactful for this region’s farmers. Together, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio account for more than $38.5 billion in agricultural value, with all three ranking in the top 16 states by agricultural output, according to the USDA. With broadband access, farmers can take advantage of advanced technologies such as precision agriculture which can help better monitor crops and increase yields.

While it’s relatively good news that two public-private sector businesses are coming together to improve the economic, educational, and “telehealth” opportunities for residents in rural areas across the U.S., it should be noted that the government has abdicated the responsibility to provide what is becoming a basic necessity to roughly 21 million people who have no access to broadband internet connectivity.

The Microsoft Edge announced last month that the new Chromium-based Edge would soon get the same autoplay media settings currently available in EdgeHTML, and Edge Insiders can now limit media autoplay in the web browser starting today. The experimental feature is now live in both the Canary and Dev channels, and you can turn it on by opening edge://flags/#edge-limit-autoplay in the address bar.

Rarely have I enabled a flag so quickly pic.twitter.com/GcTSxSNhMv

— Kyle Pflug (@kylealden) July 10, 2019

It’s worth noting that the algorithm used for this feature won’t block all autoplaying videos you can find while browsing the web, and Microsoft says that “most popular websites will remain affected.” Still, this should be useful to remove some of the most annoying video ads used by some websites.

Another new feature from the old Microsoft Edge that has now made its way to Edge Canary is the ability to customize font sizes and background themes while using Reading View (via Reddit). This is a definitely a nice usability improvement, and you can turn on this feature right now by checking edge://flags/#edge-reading-view-text-preference in the latest Canary build.

Starting at $749.25

While many who shop in the PC universe laud the selection choices the myriad of manufacturers offer, the comes a time when even a niche offering has to be called into question and I think Lenovo just stumbled across that threshold with the Thinkpad X390.

For Thinkpad fans, the X390 might feel like a bit of a head-scratcher as Lenovo’s numeric scheme would imply a rather significant jump from last year’s X280 model.

However, it seems Lenovo is justifying the leap by doing more than a simple chip and GPU swap, but instead, redesigning the display parameters to support an all-new 13.3 – inch screen in its relative 12-inch frame and this new design is where the company will need to explain why buyers will now have to choose between the X390 or it other, very similar ThinkPad T490 lineup.

Prior to the upgraded display, the X-series represented a portable post netbook device that became Lenovo’s smallest screen offering at the time. At 12.5-inches, the X280 easily became the device developers would use to spin up VMs for remote work environments for visiting guest or multi-user hotspots for open office use.

Now it seems in keeping up with the times and users demand, Lenovo has expanded the screen, reduced the bezels and refreshed the internals but to the detriment of offering a clear distinction in its product line.

Taking a break from the continuing convolution of the product line, Lenovo has actually done a decent job art offering another decent ThinkPad device.

3rd Party USB-C Protection and Battery Performance

The new X390 (my review unit) comes with an Intel Core i5 (8th generation) processors with Thunderbolt 3 and “Anti-Fry” protection as well as rapid charge support out of the box. Lenovo’s Anti-Fry protection is something new USB-C converts will appreciate as it helps guard against 3rd party cables from sending compromising voltage to the device. Anti-Fry is something other companies such as late-to-the game  Microsoft should invest in with their upcoming projects.

Following its lineage of “long-lasting” battery performance, the X390 also comes with Rapid Charge to help top off those quick access moments of work. Personally, I found this to be table stakes as most manufacturers are already offering this feature, and the amount of time to get an 80% charge seemed to be pretty standard. In the end, the X390 lasted shy of 7 hours under my standard workload and about 2 and a half hours shorter than the T490 and hour shy of its predecessor the X280 surprisingly.

With a larger panel to power, the 48Wh battery that came in the X280  just isn’t enough to power the X390 the same way. While my workload differed day to day, many of the variables remained the same from brightness level to time off of a charger. It should be noted that I enrolled the X390 into the Windows 10, Office 365 and Skype Insider programs as well as used the new Chromium Edge browser as my only internet portal. I suspect anyone making use of Chrome, those numbers my shrink even further.

Build quality and Display

The X390 comes with the same mil-spec designed previous ThinkPad devices have become synonymous with, including the matte black magnesium bottom chassis as well as a reinforced carbon-fiber plastic lid or a reinforced glass-fiber lid (offered as alternative lid option in some regions.) Despite Lenovo’s claim of a slimming of the chassis by 5%, the X390 feels about as heavy as last years model.

Speaking of the display, which is arguably the biggest change from the X280, Lenovo is offering up to four different options for configurations that include an HD TN (1366×786), FHD (1920×1080), QHD (2560×1440) and a 4K UHD (3240×2160).

For the model I tested, I got the 13.3 FHD with a measly 300 nits of brightness, but supports an Anti-Glare coating and 10-point multitouch, despite the X390 hinge set up only folds back 180-degrees.

While the bezels were reduced on the X390, Lenovo still increased the overall size of the laptop which means the devices is now roughly as bigs as other PCs in the company’s lineup and being offered at roughly the same price now.

With a slightly larger chassis, Lenovo only iteratively updated its already outstanding keyboard, in the best ways by increasing the area of the touchpad and supporting Microsoft’s arguably better Precision Touch drivers. For more precise movement, Lenovo also packs the iconic red “nipple” (aka TrackPoint) in the lower center of the keyboard.

Summary

As I do with almost all ThinkPad reviews, I apply the caveat that these devices are rarely sold as individual purchases and will likely go through some IT Admin’s budgeting portfolio before an end-user gets the final product.

Lenovo’s IdeaPad, All-in-Ones, Yoga’s and Legion laptops are the devices most consumers and tech enthusiasts will come into contact with on a regular digital or physical store shelf.

With that being said, this ThinkPad X390 doesn’t stray too far from its X280 predecessor despite the numbering convention implying that it might. The X390 sports the same great build quality, I/O selection, communication and security features and color accurate displays as most modern ThinkPads. The device runs relatively cool and quiet unless installing a new Insider build, charging a below 10% battery or a photo editor while also working on six Excel docs chalked full of macros.

As mentioned prior, the only real downside to the X390 is that Lenovo offers the ThinkPad T490 which comes in at $846.75 with a slightly larger screen in a relatively small housing.

Obviously, Lenovo has the telemetry on how well their new line up of its devices should fare but I personally think the company needs to streamline its lineup. In the meantime, the X390 looks and feels like a modest upgrade over the X280 equipped with up to 16GB DDR4-2400 memory and a 512GB SSD it’ll make for a solid workstation for most employees but doesn’t move the excitement meter in either direction.

The Star Wars Battlefront II video game will be getting a month-long celebration of the Prequel Era movies and TV series this month with weekly in-game quests that will reward players with exclusive items that can’t be obtained anywhere else.

These rare items include new animated victory poses and dialogue lines for Darth Maul, Yoda, Obi-Wan, and General Grievous which can be unlocked and claimed after certain tasks are met by the community.

For example, if the entire Battlefront II playerbase performs a certain amount of kills with Darth Maul between July 11th and the 20th, a new victory pose will be unlocked. If the community performs an unspecified number of chokes on opponents within that timeframe, the new voice line will be made available.

Specific details on each quest is said to be revealed before each event begins so the exact number of required kills and chokes have yet to be revealed. What is known is the character poses and lines that will be given away each week.

Here’s the confirmed list:

• July 11th – 20th: Darth Maul
• July 18th – 27th: Obi-Wan Kenobi
• July 25th – August 4th: General Grievous
• August 1st – August 11th: Yoda

Every Wednesday in July will also be a Double XP event where players can earn more experience in all game modes for all characters, troopers, and vehicles.

Star Wars Battlefront II is really kicked things up a notch with its updates recently. Last month saw the addition of Droideka, new hero skins, a new vehicle for the clone army, and Naboo to the Capital Supremacy game mode. Little is known about future content but it has been confirmed that the planet Felucia will be coming soon and hints of Padme and Ahsoka have been found in the game files.

Do you play Star Wars Battlefront II on your Xbox One? Let us know what you think of this new content in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Xbox gaming content.

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STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II

Developer:
Electronic Arts

Price:
Free

Build 77.0.211.2 is now live for Edge Insiders on the Developer Channel. This latest build introduces the a variety of new features like the Read Aloud option for PDFs, SafeSearch for Bing searches, added security for payment card data, and support for the HEVC decoder.

Here’s the full release notes:

New features and behavior:

• Read Aloud enabled for PDFs
• Enable secure receipt of payment card data.
• Enable Application Reputation from SmartScreen by default
• Fix to support Dolby audio on Windows 8.
• Family safety feature has a flag in edge://flags.
• Direct launch for ClickOnce applications has been enabled.
• Support for HEVC decoder has been added.
• Enable Windows Defender Application Guard by default
• Now we sort extensions into “From Microsoft Store” and “From other store” categories
• Added “Recent” category in History management page
• Disabled InPrivate browsing for profiles managed by Family Settings
• Added tracking prevention under a flag in edge://flags.
• Added ability to Save pages as MHTML from reading view
• Work to support single sign on (SSO) and Azure Active Directory (AAD)
• Work to support DRM in PDF
• Localization into 11 languages (more coming)
• Enabling SmartScreen on macOS by default
• Enabling SafeSearch functionality for all Bing searches.
• Support for keyboard shortcuts for extensions.

Fixes for improved reliability:

• Fix for TouchBar on macOS when in YouTube fullscreen mode.
• Multiple fixes to sync engine
• Improved the crash reporting and uploading
• Fixed a crash on URL load
• Fixed an error when sync was turned off and on repeatedly.
• Fixed a crash when trying to write to a read only date attribute
• Fixed a crash when moving tab between two windows on separate screens.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when sync occurred before sign-on completed
• Fixed a crash that occurs on some navigation requests.
• Fixed a crash on pop-up windows
• Fixed crash on launch of Microsoft Edge of macOS Sierra and High Sierra versions
• Enabled ability to automatically repair extensions by default.
• Fixed an issue with guest more support on privacy and services settings page.
• Fixed crash on launch of Microsoft Edge of macOS

Fixes for improved behavior:

• Improvements to dark mode in various controls and pages
• Select the last used Chrome profile by default when importing from Chrome.
• Move multiple controls to Fluent UI
• Improve the cleanup logic in the installer
• Limit New Tab Page content for Education SKUs and Windows 10s.
• Fixes to new WebView control rendering
• Fixes for importing defaults from Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer
• Fixes for Reading View toolbar
• Fixes for importing pinned tabs and settings during First Run Experience
• Fix to use user preference for font size rather than preset default.
• Automatically move keyboard focus to address bar after First Run Experience
• Fixed the swipe gesture for History on macOS
• Fixed the sync icon badge on the user flyout.
• Audio offload fixes to improve performance and battery life.

The Dev Channel typically gets a new Microsoft Edge test build once a week but this will be the first one in a fortnight due to many Microsoft employees taking several days off last week for the July 4th celebrations.

The Canary Channel also received a new build today. That update added the light and dark theme settings to Microsoft’s upcoming new browser.

Are you an Edge Insider or are you simply waiting for the proper release of the new Edge browser? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter for more Microsoft app news.

A new update for the popular Minecraft video game is now available for Windows 10 and consoles such as Microsoft’s Xbox One.

This latest update, which brings the Bedrock (multi-platform) version of Minecraft to Version 1.12.0, features a host of improvements and bug fixes.

Most-notable is the increase in volume and occurrence of the ambient mob sounds, the addition of Wandering Trader sounds, the Store being renamed as Marketplace, new permission settings for Realm owners, and improved game performance near villages and when opening inventory.

Here’s the official list of changes made with this update. The full release notes, which are too long to include on this page, can be read here.

• Increased the frequency and volume of the ambient mob sounds made during raids, to make them easier to locate
• Added new Wandering Trader sounds (MCPE-41191)
• Updated the main menu splash text
• Updated the default main menu panorama from Aquatic to Village & Pillage
• The “Store” button on the main menu has been renamed to “Marketplace”
• Realm owners can now set relevant permissions for players invited to their Realm
• Default settings can be set for all new members entering a Realm
• The owner can set permissions for an invited player to either visitor, member or operator
• When resetting a world, or uploading a new world, already set permissions stay in place

Minecraft continues to receive updates on a very regular basis. Last month it was announced that the game would be getting a revamp of its combat system in the near future while new skin packs were added based on Disney’s Toy Story movies.

Do you play Minecraft? Let us know which platform you play on the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Minecraft content.

Microsoft is bringing a manual toggle for the light/dark mode setting to its new Chromium-based Edge Insider browser (via Neowin). The toggle has already made its way to the Canary channel, allowing users to change the theme straight from within the browser settings.

Dark mode in the Edge Insider browser isn’t entirely new, as the browser already could adjust the theme mode automatically based on the system settings on either Windows 10 or macOS. However, now users can choose the theme manually, or leave it on automatic if they prefer. This setting is especially useful on older versions of Windows, namely 7 and 8.1, which don’t natively support dark mode.

Those who have the Canary version of the browser (currently at 77.0.213.1) can try the new feature now. With any luck, we could see it reach the Dev version soon, which provides a slightly more stable experience than the Canary builds. Do you prefer the light theme of Chromium Edge, or do you prefer being on the dark site? Feel free to leave your thought down in the comments area below.

Microsoft has confirmed in a new forum post (via MSPU) that they will be retiring all of their Microsoft Internet Games titles which were released on the older Windows XP, ME, and 7 operating systems.

The six video games being affected are Internet Backgammon (XP/ME, 7), Internet Checkers (XP/ME, 7), Internet Spades (XP/ME, 7), Internet Hearts (XP/ME), Internet Reversi (XP/ME), and MSN Go (7).

Windows XP and ME users will lose access to these titles on July 31st this year, which is just three weeks away, while Windows 7 users will have until January 22nd next year.

“We truly appreciate all the time and passion you’ve put into Microsoft Internet Games. This has been a great community,” the official post reads. “However, the time has come for us, along with our hardware and software partners, to invest our resources towards more recent technologies so that we can continue to deliver great new experiences.”

With most people having made the jump to Windows 10, and Microsoft having already released a variety of newer video games for casual players in the Microsoft Store, it’s unlikely that these six classic games had a large enough playerbase to justify continued support. Those who are still playing will likely be disappointed though.

Have you been playing any of these games on your Windows computer? Let us know which ones in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Windows gaming content.

The Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle Upgrade Pack is out now on Microsoft’s Xbox One family of consoles. This new release comes with the main Attack on Titan 2 video game plus a large number of downloadable content (DLC) that adds playable storylines from the first three seasons of the popular anime series, over 40 new characters, new gear, and a new Territory Recovery game mode.

Gamers who buy this release before August 1st will also get a variety of extra costumes for customizing characters in-game.

Here’s the official store description:

Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle Upgrade Pack contains the latest content for the tactical hunting action series based on the hit anime series Attack on Titan.

• Includes the stories from seasons 1~3 of the anime!
• More than 40 playable characters join the battle!
• Experience the thrilling action of “ODM Gear”!
• New equipment “Thunder Spear” and “Anti-personnel Omni-directional Mobility Gear” have been added!
• The new mode “Territory Recovery Mode” has been added!

Are you an Attack on Titan fan and will you pick up this latest video game release? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more geek culture content.

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Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle with Bonus

Developer:
KOEI TECMO AMERICA Corporation

Price:
Free

The official Windows 10 Telegram app updated to Version 1.7.13 earlier today, adding Telegram’s new animated stickers in addition to support for strikethrough and underline text formatting.

These new animated stickers use the .TGS file format which allows for high quality images and 60 frames per second for each sticker. Like Telegram’s regular stickers, anyone can create and upload their own animated stickers for use either personally or for use by the general public.

Here’s the official release notes:

• Send ultra-lightweight high-quality animated stickers to express emotion with motion.
• Receive animated stickers instantly on any connection at just 20-30 KB per sticker.
• Enjoy smooth animations at 60 frames per second.
• Create new animated sets and upload them to @stickers for everybody to use.
• Try out these sample stickers: t.me/addstickers/hotcherry
• Use strikethrough and underline formatting

Telegram’s previous updates added other options for chats in addition to the new location-based communication tool.

Do you use Telegram or do you prefer another chat app? Let us know in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter for more tech news.

The app was not found in the store. ?

Go to store
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Two years after Xbox Game Pass made its debut on Xbox One, Microsoft’s gaming subscription service has recently launched on PC with a catalog of over 100 games. Xbox Game Pass was preceded by other services from Sony and EA, but it seems that Microsoft’s initiative is the one that had the biggest impact on the video games industry so far.

During a panel hosted by GameIndustry.biz at Gamelab 2019, several developers have voiced their enthusiasm about Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft never really discussed how it was remunerating developers and publishers who agreed to release their games on Xbox Game Pass, but it’s clear the Redmond giant definitely has the resources to bring several AAA games on the catalog. In recent months, we’ve seen recent blockbuster games such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider or Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus join Xbox Game Pass, and Metro Exodus, a game that was an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC is also playable with the new Xbox Game Pass for PC.

We may never get details about Microsoft’s deals with game publishers, but Fredrik Wester, Executive Chairman of the Board at Paradox Interactive and one of the panellists at Gamelab 2019 referred to Spotify and Netflix to explain the different business models that subscription services can use. The Spotify business model, where artists get more money depending on their song’s popularity may be more interesting for live service games, but Microsoft apparently opted for personalized deals with developers and publishers.

“Spotify pays you depending on how many times your song is played,” Wester said. “Netflix pays you a fixed fee, depending on what it thinks your TV series is worth. They are fundamentally different things, and that’s what you see [with Game Pass] as well.

“OnLive, for example, they said, ‘You can have your game on our service, we’re going to attract a lot of customers, and we’re going to deliver you money based on how many hours people play your game.’

“Now, at Paradox we love that business model, because people play our games for 3,000 or 4,000 hours… While the Game Pass model — to us — is still a decent model, but we think we’re not getting paid enough, because people play our games more than they play very single-player, narrative-driven games.”

Even though the Netflix-like business model may not be ideal in the “game as a service era,” it still seems like third-party studios interested in Xbox Game Pass can still strike some pretty good deals with Microsoft. Dino Patti, Co-Founder and former CEO of Playdead and now Executive producer and Co-Founder of Jumpship said during the panel that Microsoft understands what developers really need.

“For me — and I might be a bit biased — but I think the way the business is with Game Pass is the first time subscription is what could be considered fair for developers,” he added. “All other business models that have been suggested with subscriptions have never worked out, because they didn’t know what developers actually need.
“With Game Pass, Microsoft is doing it correctly, I feel, for the developers.”

Game subscription services are still quite new in the video games industry, but the competition is already heating  with the upcoming launch of Ubisoft’s Uplay+, Apple Arcade and Google Stadia this Fall. According to Wester, this is a great opportunity for game developers and publishers to make more money. “People are throwing money at everything, and if you can’t make money today in the games industry then you probably will never be able to make money, ever, in this industry — if you’re an established company, because new companies always struggle,” he explained.