The Xbox Games Showcase is over, and we got to see "Halo Infinite" at its best, as well as promising new Xbox Series X releases such as "Forza Motorsport" and "Fable 4" While the excitement of Sony's PS5 game announcement in June But Microsoft's event had something much more important to offer

About 20 games shown off at Microsoft's big Xbox event will be available for play on Xbox Game Pass at launch This means that instead of purchasing the games for $60 per game, you can access them for a subscription fee of $5 to $15 per month, ranging from major first-party games like "Halo Infinite" and "State of Decay 3" to games like "Destiny 2: Beyond Light," and high-profile third-party titles like "Stalker 2"

With two expensive new consoles coming this fall, and some next-generation games set to increase in price to $70, Microsoft's Netflix-like approach to game distribution is a refreshing, consumer-friendly move

"Microsoft is pushing subscription plans like Xbox Game Pass strongly So the retail price of AAA games is becoming less and less important over time for a growing segment of the console gamer base," Lewis Ward, research director for games at marketing research firm IDC, told us earlier this month [This doubling of Game Pass is further tied to Microsoft's focus on building the entire Xbox ecosystem, rather than forcing people to buy a single console many of the titles shown off at the Xbox Games Showcase are Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC to play In addition, Microsoft's Project xCloud streaming service is set to become part of Game Pass, which will soon be playable on cell phones, tablets, and inexpensive laptops via the cloud

It could be argued that Microsoft's approach is holding the Xbox Series X back against the PS5, with titles such as Horizon: Forbidden West and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart specifically designed to harness the power of Sony's new game console Rift Apart is specifically designed to harness the power of Sony's new game consoles These two games definitely looked more impressive than Halo Infinite, which did not demonstrate the polish and brilliance of a true next-generation game

But Microsoft is playing the long game here, and its recent moves could position the Xbox Series X as the ultimate console for gamers who want the most bang for their buck While an additional $400-$500 console purchase of an exclusive game like "Spider-Man" or "Horizon" would pay for itself quickly, getting a big game like "Halo" or "Fable" for a few dollars a month would be far more acceptable

The Game Pass approach would also expand the reach of Microsoft's games to include people like me who have no plans to buy an Xbox Series X but can't wait to play Halo Infinite or Grounded on the PC So while this week's Xbox Games Showcase may not have made me aware of the PS5, it did ensure that I will continue my Game Pass subscription for years to come