Xbox Game Pass remains one of Microsoft’s greatest strengths in the gaming industry, having become one of the largest gaming subscription services in less than five years since its launch. The subscription service has undeniably changed the industry, introducing a subscription where fans can experience major releases like Halo Infinite and The Outer Worlds on the day they release.
Now, Microsoft has announced another important addition to Xbox GamePass that could change the way the give of upcoming games. Through an initiative called “Project Moorcroft,” Xbox Game Pass will receive demos of upcoming games ahead of their release starting in 2023.
The Moorcroft Project announcement comes with the news that Xbox Cloud Gaming will debut on select Samsung TVs starting June 30 and that Xbox Cloud Gaming subscribers Xbox GamePass soon they will be able to play the games they own through Xbox Cloud Gaming. These reveals come just before the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase 2022, which will air in a few days on June 12, revealing updates and announcements of upcoming games coming to PC, Xbox One and Xbox One. Xbox Series X|S.
The Moorcroft Project is a program that allows developers to release give selected of future games that are currently in development for subscribers of Xbox GamePass, in order to collect opinions and allow players to try their games before. In a video shared by Tom Warren, Xbox VP Sarah Bond compares the demos to those previously released to the public and media at events like E3 and PAX, stating that this new program replaces the exhibitions of these events for an Xbox Game Pass subscription.
In addition, Bond reveals in this video that the games that participate in Project Moorcroft will receive financial support from Microsoft for their projects, in case they release demos through Xbox Game Pass. This could be accompanied by the probability that the games will end up coming to Xbox Game Pass at launch.
This is an important part of the process, as many developers have criticized events like E3 for taking time and resources away from full game development for the production of select demos to play on the show floor, but Microsoft has hinted that it will take back the cost of it.