Today is a big day for Xbox news, with announcements coming from everywhere. We have already been treated to a whole array of gaming improvements coming to Windows 11 and Edge earlier.
And now, Microsoft has also revealed another new feature for Xbox Game Pass.
A very welcome new feature, in fact.
Redmond has outlined plans to offer players demos of upcoming games before they launch. Gamers can try out these demos as a perk for the game streaming subscription program. These will be offered as slices so folks can get an idea of the kind of gameplay to expect from these titles.
This new initiative is internally known as Project Moorcroft, and more weightier details are still scarce.
But this is what the company had to say on this:
“Participating developers will be able to see how their demos perform, and be compensated, enabling them to bring their creativity to Xbox and reach new audiences with Game Pass.”
The plan is to launch this new feature in 2023, with an immediate focus on indie developers to help them offer an experience akin to a trade show. But, in time, something like this could expand to bigger, more complex titles as well.
As you would expect, these gameplay slices will be curated by Xbox services teams, and not every upcoming title will get to offer these demos.
Interestingly, Microsoft is not alone in offering something like this.
Sony is already launching a similar demo plan, offering trial versions of titles for its newly revamped PlayStation Plus tiers. This service directly complements Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass offering. Players will have two hours to try out a game before making a purchase decision.
So, while Xbox players will have to wait until next year to get this functionality, PlayStation players are on track to get this feature this month.
Expect more details on how Microsoft offers this closer to launch in 2023, including the exact plans for this demo feature, the types of games that will be available to trial, and which subscription tier this functionality will be available on.