Microsoft is probably planning a special new subscription level

After the change in Xbox’s executive suite, internal data indicates structural adjustments to Game Pass. Hidden in the files of a current update are references to a previously unannounced subscription level with a special gaming focus.

New subscription coming?

Microsoft is apparently continuing to restructure its gaming business following the recent change in leadership. At the center of the new strategy is Xbox Game Pass. After there were already rumors about the end of the PC version and a bundle with Netflix, a data miner has now found lines of text in the system files of a current update that describe a new and previously unannounced subscription level.

While the current models either provide access to a catalog on console, PC or via the cloud, the new model, similar to the current Game Pass Core, appears to offer a limited but specific range of games. The code shows a possibly cheaper variant called “Triton”, which only grants access to titles that were developed by the Xbox Studios themselves.

Details about the new variant

The possible new subscription level was discovered by users redphx on X. According to the dataminer, the games included should be the following:

• Doom Eternal
• Dishonored 2
• Fable Anniversary
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76
• Gears 5
• Halo 5
• Halo Wars 2
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Ori and the Blind Forest
• State of Decay 2
• The Elder Scrolls Online

Future of subscriptions

Microsoft is also continuing to redesign the ecosystem and its marketing. The new head of the Xbox division, Asha Sharma, has just ended the infamous “This is an Xbox” campaign. The reason she said was that it didn’t feel like Xbox. Accordingly, further changes could come to Microsoft’s gaming platform in the next few weeks and months.

The coming months will also show how Microsoft is restructuring Game Pass. A changed model could be crucial to getting the service back on track after subscription numbers recently no longer met expectations. The existing line-up of our own games could serve as a driving force within the framework of “Triton”.