[5] The concept of Game Pass fit into the larger corporate strategy of Microsoft to push cloud-based services under CEO Satya Nadella.

Sea of Thieves was intended as a major test of demonstrating how well Game Pass would be adopted by players and the economics of the system.

[7] Later in the second quarter of 2017, the service was opened up to players who subscribe to Xbox Live Gold, and then to the general user population.

[9] Additionally, select ID@Xbox titles are also added to the service on their release dates, the first being Robocraft Infinity.

[10] Spencer has stated that Microsoft's intent with Xbox Game Pass is to make it available across many devices, including those of their competitors.

[13] On June 9, 2019, Microsoft announced that Game Pass for PC would launch in open beta, and this would also be included in Ultimate.

[17][18][19] A web application for Xbox Cloud Gaming entered an invite-only beta in April 2021, and became generally available in June 2021; it is compatible with PC and mobile web browsers (including, in particular, iOS devices, as restrictions enforced by Apple that inhibit the ability to offer cloud gaming services on the platform).

[20][21] In June 2021, Microsoft stated that it was working on a Game Pass app for smart TVs, as well as a "standalone streaming device".

[26] Since launch, Microsoft had offered an introductory $1/mo rate for new subscribers to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Microsoft announced it was discontinuing this promotion in March 2023 and was looking for potential replacement options to draw in new subscribers.

Instead, a new Standard tier,[32] offering Xbox Live services and access to the game library, excluding day one releases, has been introduced.

[40] Paradox Interactive's Fredrik Wester stated the terms they have had followed the Netflix model where the developer or publisher was paid a lump sum by Microsoft for their game on the service for a fixed period of time based on a perceived value, rather than the per-play royalty-based approach used by services like Spotify.

[41] The upfront approach, along with the large subscriber numbers, allows developers to select ongoing directions for their games.

In the case of Obsidian Entertainment, they were able to consider additional downloadable content for their game Outer Worlds as they knew millions were playing it.

[38] In a July 2020 interview, Xbox's marketing director Aaron Greenberg said that Xbox Game Pass is not necessarily meant to be profitable for Microsoft at the current time but is designed to help draw more players to use it through word-of-mouth by offering a large set of features as a seemingly under priced value, and in the long-term become valuable.

[44] In the Q3 2020 earnings call in April 2020, Microsoft reported that there were over 10 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

[50] Xbox Game Pass is available in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

[51][52] On March 29, 2022, the PC Game Pass Preview launched in five more Southeast Asian countries (the first one was Singapore), including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

[53][54] The PC Game Pass service has also expanded to several European, North Africa, and Middle East countries through a preview that started on February 28, 2023.