Microsoft Xbox is considering creating a subscription plan for streaming video games that comes with a Xbox console, according to a new report.
Later this month, Microsoft may debut the Xbox All Access monthly subscription service, which would include an Xbox console, the Xbox Live multiplayer streaming service, and the Netlflix-like Xbox Game Pass, according to a report on Thursday by online news publication Windows Central.
Subscribers who pay $22 a month would get the Xbox One S console while those who pay $35 would get the more advanced Xbox One X console, according to the report, which cited unnamed sources. Subscribers would have to agree to a two-year contract, after which they would own the console, much like how some people lease cars and refrigerators, the report said.
A Microsoft spokesperson told Coins2Day that the company “does not comment on rumors or speculation.”
Although the report hedged by saying that Microsoft’s plans could change, it does give some insight into some of the ways Microsoft is trying to compete with rivals like Sony.
Microsoft (MSFT) does not disclose how many Xbox consoles it sells, but analysts generally say the company trails Sony’s competing PlayStation console in the number of units it sells.
In May, Electronic Arts (EA) chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen hinted during an earnings call that Microsoft had sold 30 million Xbox One consoles in 2017 while Sony sold over 73 million PlayStations. At the time, Microsoft said that those estimates were wrong, but it did not elaborate, according to Variety.
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During recent earnings calls, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has tried to convince analysts that the company’s video game business is more than just selling Xbox consoles. Instead, he has pitched Microsoft’s gaming strategy as including everything from PC games to streaming subscription services to other products that are not specifically hardware.
