The gamification of a games console – who’d have thought it! Microsoft has just announced the launch of a new service connected to its Game Pass subscription for the Xbox One. Known as Xbox Game Pass Quests, the new service enables players to go on monthly gaming missions for the acquisition of points, which can then be redeemed in the Microsoft Store.

Of course, there are some restrictions. For one (at the time of writing) it appears that Quests is currently only available in the United States, but Microsoft has confirmed that it will be coming to other markets soon. Second, the quests themselves will change from month to month, so players do have a short window of time to complete their point-fuelled missions. And third, the quests will only relate to games that are currently available in the Xbox Game Pass catalogue – but that’s quite a large library, so there should be something for everyone.

And for the first month (January 2019) there are a total of 2,100 points to be acquired, which amounts to around $2 I believe. So it’s fair to say that these Xbox Game Pass quests won’t draaaastically reduce your monthly gaming budget, but it’s better than nothing right?

You can have a look at Microsoft’s press release for a full breakdown of all your missions (should you choose to accept them, chortle chortle) and if you’re wanting to invest the bare minimum of effort, maybe start with the Play Something New quest, which requires you to simply complete an achievement in an Xbox Game Pass title that was added in December 2018. Boom. 300 points. (Or 30 cents 😉 )

Now, I haven’t been an Xbox player since around 2015 (which was when I last picked up the controller for my 360) but I do like this idea from Microsoft. And whilst it’s not quiiiite enough to incentivise me into purchasing an Xbox One (sorry Microsoft) I would love to see a similar idea come to PlayStation Plus. How about it, Sony?

Anyway, how do you feel about Xbox Game Pass Quests? Is the number of points worth the investment of time, in your opinion? Are you excited about trying the service out, or are you feeling indifferent? Let me know in the comments below.

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