Gamestop stock dips as Microsoft offers free legacy downloads for one monthly price.

Borrowing a page from Netflix's unlimited subscription model, Microsoft today announced Game Pass, a service that will offer downloadable copies of over 100 Xbox One and backwards-compatible Xbox 360 games from the systems' legacy catalogs for a $10-per-month subscription (£8).

Microsoft hasn't provided a full list of games that will be available yet, but an e-mailed announcement included Halo 5: Guardians, Saints Row IV Re-Elected, NBA 2K16, Mad Max, LEGO Batman, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Terraria, Payday 2, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Fable III, SoulCalibur II, and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 as examples of what to expect at launch. Publishers taking part in the program include 2K, 505 Games, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Codemasters, Deep Silver, Focus Home Interactive, Sega, SNK, THQ Nordic GmbH, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and Microsoft Studios.

New games will cycle in and out of availability with some regularity, Microsoft said. Still, based on the above list, we wouldn't expect any major new releases to hit Game Pass until well after their traditional retail launches.

Unlike Sony's PlayStation Now subscription, which offers dozens of PS3 games streamed from centralized servers, Xbox Game Pass will let users "download the full titles directly on your Xbox One," as Microsoft puts it. "That means continuous, full-fidelity gameplay without having to worry about streaming, bandwidth or connectivity issues." If you want to purchase a Game Pass game for use after your subscription ends (or after it cycles out of Game Pass availability), you will be able to do so at a discount, Microsoft said.
Game Pass expands on Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold program (and the similar PlayStation Plus on Sony systems), which provide a small handful of free game downloads every month for users that spend $60 a year as well as access to online multiplayer servers. While those games come at a monthly trickle, though, Game Pass will offer instant access to a much larger library. It's an interesting way to take advantage of the growing back catalog of Xbox games that players have previously had to pick through with individual downloads or hunt for in GameStop's bargain bins (incidentally, GameStop stock is down nearly 5 percent since Microsoft's morning announcement, as of this writing).

Though an all-you-can-eat buffet of Xbox classics sounds instantly appealing, the Netflix model might actually be an odder fit for games. Binge-watching a TV show or a slew of movies isn't exactly the same as playing a game like Halo 5 or Payday 2, which offer essentially never-ending online gameplay. And many players may end up focusing their Game Pass time on just one or two games of interest rather than really sampling widely from Game Pass' expansive buffet. Then again, at just $10 a month, the Pass could quickly become valuable even if you only discover a few new titles through the service every year.

Select members of the Xbox Insider program will get to begin a limited Alpha test of Game Pass today. Other users will have to wait until the service launches later this spring.