Microsoft reportedly bundling console, Gold and Game Pass into Xbox All Access service

Reports have emerged that suggests Microsoft could combine both Xbox hardware and its online offering into a single monthly subscription.

The Verge claims to have heard from sources familiar with the platform holder's plans that the offer - codenamed Project Largo - will see players pay a monthly free to gain either an Xbox One S or Xbox One X, along with Xbox Live Gold membership and the Xbox Game Pass.

The site reports that the Xbox One X offer would bundle the 4K console and the two services in for $34.99 per month in a two-year contract - a total spend of $839.76.

The subscription package is believed to be called Xbox All Access, as also reported by Windows Central. This will only be available via Microsoft's retail stores initially and only to US customers, but if it proves to be popular the platform holder could roll this out to other markets.

It's an intriguing prospect, and one that builds on a previous Microsoft experiment: six year ago, the firm offered an Xbox 360 for $99, providing consumers committed to a two-month Xbox Live contract at $15 per month.

It also plays into the long-suspected shift towards a smartphone-style model, something that was widely discussed when both the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro were announced. These incremental hardware updates are deemed by some to be the console equivalent of a mid-generation iPhone, and possibly testing the waters for a market where players pick up their console as part of a mobile-style contract rather than a hefty one-off payment.

Microsoft teased at E3 that it is working on multiple next-generation devices during its E3 2018 press conference, with reports suggesting this will include both a traditional and a streaming-only console. A subscription offering could also help shift these devices if the hardware is more expensive than the Xbox One.

Such a move would also play into Microsoft's strategy of building up its Xbox Game Pass service. In addition to putting all first-party new releases on the service and adding more third-party hits, the firm also hopes to increase the appeal of Game Pass' library with more projects from newly-acquired studios like Hellblade creator Ninja Theory. You can read more about the platform holder's plans in our interview with Matt Booty.

The Verge also reports there is a new Xbox accessory in the works that will retail for $149. Codenamed Washburn, it's not clear what this might be but was originally teased when Microsoft promised an "all-new Xbox hardware" announcement at Gamescom this week.

The reveal appears to have been scrapped, given that no such device debuted in the firm's Gamescom episode of Inside Xbox but The Verge claims it will launch in October around the launch of Forza Horizon 4.