Xbox Game Pass: Why Microsoft calls it a blessing, not threat to consumers, developers

An attendee takes a photograph of Xbox Game Pass signage following the Microsoft Corp. Xbox event ahead of the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, U.S., in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Sunday, June 10, 2018. Xbox previewed a flurry of new titles and deals with studios as the video-gaming division of Microsoft looks to compete more intensely with Sony Corp.'s PlayStation and a resurgent Nintendo Co. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

LOS ANGELES: On its surface, Xbox Game Pass seems like a sort of Netflix for videogames. The Microsoft-run service charges players a monthly fee for unlimited access to a library of titles. 

But the results of that service, which has been live now for about a year, show a number of surprising, meaningful changes in the way its users consume games.