Summary
First debuting all the way back in February 2017,Xbox Game Passis still widely considered to be the best deal in gaming. Though its output over the last few months has been a bit of a mixed bag,Xbox Game Passstill offers well over 100 quality experiences, and for just one low price every month, that’s more than reasonable for most Xbox users. With Xbox Game Pass achieving a great deal of success over the last few years, it’s only natural that PlayStation would want a piece of the action, debuting its own PlayStation Plus subscription system in 2022. While both services are already pretty great, they’re about to get a whole lot better.
Announced in March 2020,Sea of Starsis the next highly-anticipated game from Indie developer Sabotage Studio, the team behind the critically-acclaimed 2018 titleThe Messenger.Sea of Starsis technically a prequel toThe Messenger, but it’s trading in its predecessor’s side-scrolling hack-and-slash gameplay for aChrono Trigger-inspired aesthetic, and turn-based RPG gameplay. For the last three years,Sea of Starshas been at the top of many gamers' wishlists, and thanks to a recent announcement, many fans won’t even need to spend a cent on the game. It’s coming to both Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus on day one, which could end up being just the start of a new industry trend.
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Sea of Stars Could Be the Start of a New Industry Trend
Basically since launch, Xbox Game Pass has heavily marketed the fact that all first-party Xbox games come to the service on day one. Over time, this has been extended to encompass a slew of other highly-anticipated titles, ranging from Indie darlings to major AAA third-party titles. For years now, this “day one on Xbox Game Pass” marketing slogan has been used time and time again to cement the service’s high value, and it’s one of the biggest reasons behind theXbox Game Pass' continued success.
Despite being much younger, PlayStation Plus has attempted a similar strategy, albeit with some big stipulations. Sony has been very candid about first-party exclusives on PS Plus, repeatedly stating that they won’t be coming to the service at launch. But that doesn’t mean PS Plus hasn’t had a few aces up its sleeve.Strayis one of the best examples of a PS Plus day-one success, landing close to the service’s launch, and essentially being one of the main reasons to upgrade to a higher tier of PlayStation Plus.
Though Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus hold differing views on day-one launches, they seem to agree thatSea of Starsis worth the investment, with the game landing on both subscription services simultaneously on release day. This is unprecedented for the gaming industry, marking the first time that a game has come to both Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus at the same time, and it could only be the start of a new generation in the gaming subscription service era.
