For many, the next generation of consoles is finally here. Some are still waiting before making the jump to PS5 and Xbox Series X, while many others are just struggling with getting their hands on the consoles. Although that’s standard fare for a console launch, 2020 has presented its own set of unique challenges. PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass played a big role in maintaining sanity throughout the pandemic, but luckily (or at least hopefully), 2020 is almost over.
As such, moving into December 2020 is unique for Sony and Microsoft’s subscription services. Each are slightly different, with PS Plus remaining a premium service for PlayStation players and Games with Gold being practically surpassed by Game Pass, but PS Plus and GwG do have one important question in common: how they approach December 2020?
December 2020 will be the first post-launch selection of games for either service, and that’s incredibly important. December 2020 would be a time to be giving, although this season has never seemingly affected either company either way. However, the game selection made available in December 2020 could set a precedent for at least most, if not all, of 2021. Sony has taken the lead here by confirming that Bugsnax is a PS Plus game until January 4, with Destruction AllStars taking over the 2-month PS5 game slot of the service in February.
The question becomes, what about the PS4 games? The best thing Sony can do is to keep up putting out great games, as it has done so throughout the pandemic (for good reason) and in preparation for the launch of the PS5. PS Plus is about a premium service providing premium games, but that identity may not be made easily clear. For example, December 2019 saw Titanfall 2 and a super niche Monster Energy supercross game be added. While the first one is a well-received game, the second one is almost not worth picking up.
Sony has to avoid going back to this one big game, one super niche pattern that it sustained going into 2020 with Uncharted’s Nathan Drake Collection and Goat Simulator. It did abandon this pattern a few months into 2020, especially once the pandemic hit, but it’s worth remembering how patterned this PS Plus approach typically is.
It may be tempted to with the fact that it is giving PS5 games out via PS Plus from the get-go, an admirable but potentially costly move. Bugsnax seems to be benefitting from it, but as long as PS Plus doesn’t get hurt by it, that’s good for consumers. Nonetheless, watching what two games Sony offers in December 2020 may give fans a taste of what’s to come in the next few months, just as Titanfall 2 and the supercross game were iconic for the two large, two niche release pattern that lasted a few months thereafter.
Games with Gold in December 2020 will likely set a precedent as well, although it’s worth asking how it may differ from PS Plus’ approach. Sony has made it clear that it’s approach does seem to follow a pattern now, with a 2-month PS5 game and PS4 games every month per usual. Games with Gold has never been that clear, at least in style. Fans typically get 2 Xbox One games, and either two Xbox 360 games or One Xbox 360 game and one original Xbox game through backward compatibility. Quality for Games with Gold has typically been sporadic, and there’s no Xbox Series X exclusives yet to boost that in any way, shape, or form.
That in and of itself presents a big question that Microsoft needs to answer: what does the future of Games with Gold look like? After all, many believe that Microsoft should abandoned Games with Gold and throw its support into Game Pass, and it’s rather easy to see why. For Sony, it was PS Plus that helped fans through the pandemic. For Microsoft, it wasn’t Games with Gold (its most comparable competitor subscription) but Game Pass. There’s little reason it can’t do both from its perspective, but how Microsoft approaches this in December 2020 will likely hint at how it will handle it moving forward.
Fans may see the run-of-the-mill GwG selection, Game Pass may get a few games, and Microsoft may carry on as normal. That may be its best play at the moment as well, at least until its first-party studios start spitting out titles. If so, that’ll tell fans that they shouldn’t expect any major changes in the coming months. However, a deviation here would suggest otherwise: if Games with Gold is suddenly bigger and better than normal, that may set a precedent for what to expect in the coming months in Xbox. For now, with November half way over, fans can expect an announcement for these in the next couple of weeks.
Until then, those who have managed to get hands on them have next-gen games to play on next-gen consoles.
PlayStation Plus and Games with Gold subscribers get free games every month.
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