Game Pass will be able to stream games that are not in subscription

Microsoft wants “later this year” to give Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers the ability to play streaming games purchased outside of the subscription. It will concern ‘a select number of games’. Game Pass will also get demos.

With the new functionality, Game Pass would work like Nvidia GeForce Now. That is a streaming service where users buy games in the regular way and then play via the streaming service.

At Nvidia, that doesn’t work with all games; they must be specifically supported by GeForce Now. That will also be the case with Game Pass Ultimate. It is not yet clear which games are supported and whether they must be purchased on an Xbox.

The function coming to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the most expensive form of the Game Pass subscription, which also includes the ability to stream games on consoles, PCs and mobile devices. Currently, this only works with games that are included in the subscription.

Game Pass getting demos

Furthermore, Microsoft unveils Project Moorcroft. Under that heading, the company wants to bring demos to the Game Pass subscription. This will happen sometime next year and initially with a focus on independent developers. That hints at the arrival of indie game demos in the beginning.

Microsoft will pay participating developers to release demos. Developers also get to see how their demo is doing. Exact details about what developers get and what metrics they gain insight into are not yet known.