If you're a PC gamer in the Philippines, and you wanted to dive into Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass because of its god-like value for money, you'd have to jump through a bunch of hoops. You can't just go to their website and sign up and pay with your card - you'd have to buy Game Pass cards or use a VPN or use accounts from markets that Microsoft supports. In fact, if you go to the Game Pass website for the US (https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-game-pass) and you change the US to ph (their URL structure is language-market), this is the page you get. If you think that maybe the URL structure might just be different for the PH. Well - no, try replacing the language and country with ANY country that has Xbox Game Pass support, and you'll find the right page.
However, all that might change soon.
Around 1:25 AM today, July 27. 2021, I got a ping on my phone - it was a Twitter mention. Now, I'm not too active on Twitter so it caught my attention. I click and I see "Microsoft PH," and yes, it was the official Microsoft PH account. It was a reply to me, responding to my request for official Xbox Game Pass support in the Philippines. And all it said was "Got it. :)"
Got it. :)
— MicrosoftPhilippines (@MicrosoftPH) July 26, 2021
It was a reply from a tweet I made on April 28, 2021 - it was essentially a four-month-old tweet. Why in the hell would Microsoft PH reply to that old Tweet? Unless...
I guess that in and of itself isn't really much to go on. However, as reported by Ungeek and One More Game, Microsoft actually posted a job opening on LinkedIn for a Gaming Marketing Lead, which seems to add more credibility to this whole thing.
Let's say Game Pass does launch in the Philippines, what does it actually mean for us? Well, for console gamers, not much - you can easily access Game Pass through your Xbox One or Xbox Series S | X with no issues using your Philippine credit card already today. For PC gamers, it's a pretty big deal. No longer will PC gamers have to go through hoop after hoop just to get Game Pass - no more VPNs, no more Game Pass cards, no more weird account jumping - it'll be accessible.
Now, will the games and content be the same? Don't count on it. The Xbox newsletter for APAC is different from the Xbox newsletter in the US, because the offerings are different. But hey, we will see. Let's hope we get to throw Microsoft even more of our money for one of the best deals in gaming today.