With Diablo 4, Xbox Game Pass Is Now More Enticing Than Ever – CNET [CNET]

More games from Activision Blizzard will likely join the service in the future as well.

Microsoft added Diablo 4, the latest installment in the successful action RPG series, to its Xbox Game Pass service Thursday. It’s the first Activision Blizzard game to join the service since Microsoft acquired the gaming behemoth in 2023, and it reinforces Game Pass as one of the best values in gaming.

“This is only the start of Xbox players being able to enjoy Activision and Blizzard games on Game Pass,” the company wrote in a February news release.

Game Pass Ultimate was already an exceptional value for Xbox owners prior to this announcement. At $17 a month, you gain access to a library of over 400 titles with new games every month, online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles. Now that Activision Blizzard games are joining the service, we’re expecting gamers to get similar benefits for some of the most popular titles the company owns, like World of Warcraft, Starcraft and the Call of Duty franchise. 

Xbox will also likely add some popular titles from Activision Blizzard’s back catalog to the service. While Game Pass has plenty of new games in its library, like the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 remakes, it also has older titles, like the Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises. Older Activision Blizzard franchises include popular classic titles like Crash Bandicoot, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Spyro the Dragon, and it’s possible that these games will arrive on the service at some point, too. These older, console-friendly games would help balance out the PC titles, such as Starcraft and World of Warcraft.

Xbox will also probably add newer Activision Blizzard titles exclusively to Xbox and Game Pass. After Xbox bought Bethesda, the studio released the unexpected hit Hi-Fi Rush and the much anticipated Starfield exclusively on Xbox, including Game Pass. Some future Activision Blizzard games could follow suit and release on the service exclusively, or at least first before being made available elsewhere — similar to how some games launch exclusively on PlayStation before coming to PC.

Xbox Game Pass was already a great deal for gamers prior to the Activision Blizzard purchase. Now, with Diablo 4 on Game Pass, and all the Activision Blizzard titles that could appear on the service later, the service’s $17-a-month price tag is a steal.

For more on Game Pass, check out what titles are being added to the service soon and other titles the service added recently.