Microsoft introduces Xbox Game Pass, a monthly subscription service for over 100 titles

Microsoft has introduced a new subscription plan that will allow gamers to access a wide variety of content.Called the Xbox Game Pass, the subscription service is priced at Rs 699 a month in India and has over a hundred Xbox One and backward compatible titles from the Xbox 360. In the US, the Game Pass is priced at $9.99 (roughly Rs 666) a month. Some of the titles available with the subscription service include Halo 5: Guardians, Terraria, Mad Max, Payday 2, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Fable III and SoulCalibur II.Users need not worry about streaming, bandwidth or connectivity concerns as users will be able to download the games locally, for a full fidelity experience. Users can add the titles to their permanent libraries at a discounted price. The catalog of titles available on the Xbox Game Pass will be updated monthly with additional titles, so users will always have access to fresh content every month. Titles will also be cycled out of the catalog every month.Microsoft has started testing Xbox Game Pass with select members of the Xbox Insider Program as an Alpha Preview. There are a limited number of titles (approximately 20) available at this time, and Xbox hopes to debut the subscription plan to the general public later this year.Xbox Live Gold users will also be able to access the Xbox Game Pass before a wider roll out. Indian users selected for the preview can expect to see the Game Pass option appear on their dashboards at about 7:30 p.m. IST. Also anticipated later this year is the Scorpio, the next generation 4K capable console from Microsoft.