The tech giant say they’ve received plenty of support for their latest venture concerning Xbox One Games.
It was announced earlier this month that Microsoft would start offering exclusive Xbox One games as part of the Game Pass program.
For those that don’t know, the Xbox Game Pass is a monthly subscription service that provides access to a library of titles.
These currently number over 100 games from Xbox One and Xbox 360, including Halo 5: Guardians, Payday 2, NBA 2K16, and LEGO Batman.
Unlike PlayStation Now, the Xbox Games Pass allows gamers to download their choice of games, which comes with unlimited access.
But Microsoft have now confirmed that the Xbox Games Pass will also include all Microsoft games exclusives being released in 2018 and beyond.
This means titles like Sea of Thieves and State of Decay 2 will be included when they launch later this year.
This has led to several independent retailers voicing concerns and even boycotting Microsoft products.
Microsoft have now responded to these reports, confirming to Gamesindustry.biz that there has also been plenty of support from the high street.
“The response to the news thus far has been positive,” a spokesperson explains.
“As we noted in our announcement, our plan is to offer ways for select retailers to assort and promote Game Pass.
“We have a long history partnering with independent stores around the world, and continue to believe they play a unique and valuable part in the ecosystem.”
This follows on from the original report in which retailers voiced their concerns on the impact of the new Xbox Game Pass.
Many of those interviewed are based in the UK, some of which will not be reordering stock from Microsoft.
“Essentially, it’s made [our Xbox business] worthless overnight,” Stuart Benson of Leicestershire store Extreme Gamez revealed to Gamesindustry.biz.
“You’ve got the whole section sat there, and why would people buy a £12 to £15 second-hand game when they can just pay a tenner and get a massive catalogue of titles to keep them going?
“Effectively overnight they’ve wiped massive value off our company and made it not worth doing.
“Why should we support them and sell their consoles and accessories if we’re going to get very little out of it? We don’t make anything off their digital selection. It’s pretty pointless. We might as well go where we’re supported, which is Sony.”
Benson adds: “I’ve got no hardware left, no control pads – and I’m not going to do an order now. I would have restocked normally, but now there’s no incentive for me to do so unless I get something dirt cheap.
“It’s very frustrating, but we can see they don’t care about retail business in the slightest. We got a lovely little plaque last year saying we’re official Microsoft stockists, and that’s a lovely token gesture – but for what reason, because they don’t support us?”
Microsoft also recently confirmed that when a first-party exclusive is added to the Xbox Games Pass, it will not be a timed selection, meaning none should be removed at a later date.