S is required if you want to release a game on X. This means you cannot leverage the technical maximum of X, ever, because the game and all it’s features must run on S.
As many people already boycott sony consoles due to them paying extra to game studios to never release certain games on xbox, there’s literally no alternative currently.
And Game Pass is great, if they pump the price too much, it will just seize to be relevant and life goes on. AAA games are pretty dirt cheap considering prices have increased way slower than inflation and average game complexity.
While I completely understand the hc gamer community hating the game, I personally, as a 37 yo working person, have had co-op and solo fun for over 200h with a few friends.
For me, that’s well worth the price of the game. And no I won’t be buying any passes and I won’t even finish season 1 because there’s nothing really that new there, but objectively D4 was a good fucking game, especially for couch co-op lovers.