Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service offered by Xbox as part of its ecosystem. Launched on June 1, 2017, the service allows users to download and play video games via video game consoles, Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, iPadOS, web browsers, smart televisions, and cloud. Game Pass contains a rotating library of games, with the games remaining accessible as long as the user has an active subscription. Game Pass subscribers also receive discounts on purchases of games from the service's library and their respective downloadable content (DLC).
The service consists of two products; the main Xbox Game Pass for the Xbox One and Series X/S, and PC Game Pass for PCs running under Microsoft's Windows brand exclusive to Windows 10 and Windows 11. Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass are available as separate subscription products. A premium tier known as Game Pass Ultimate includes access to both services, in addition to Xbox Cloud Gaming, an on-demand cloud gaming available on console, PC, and mobile platforms, and Xbox Game Pass Essential subscription benefits.
The service features titles from Xbox subsidiaries Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks and Activision Blizzard, as well as other companies. Since January 2018, all new Xbox Game Studios titles have been available to Game Pass subscribers immediately upon their release. Microsoft has also offered access to Electronic Arts's EA Play service, Ubisoft's Ubisoft+ and Riot Games special bonus rewards for PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.
Xbox Live Gold was discontinued on September 14, 2023, with the service being merged into Xbox Game Pass as a new low price tier, Xbox Game Pass Core, which offers a limited set of free titles to subscribers.
History Launch and expansion (2017-2023)
Conception of what would become Game Pass came from two areas. First was with Phil Spencer, who became head of the Xbox brand following the troubled launch of the Xbox One in 2013. Spencer, seeking to improve the brand's image, reinvigorated the Xbox team with new ideas for this, even if his ideas were risky. One of the ideas generated during this time was a game rental service, and a project to establish this service was started under the code name Arches. As Microsoft progressed, online streaming services like Netflix and Spotify demonstrated successful subscription business models that led Microsoft to transition Arches to also follow a subscription model eventually into Game Pass. The concept of Game Pass fit into the larger corporate strategy of Microsoft to push cloud-based services under CEO Satya Nadella.
The second area involved Rare, a game developer that Microsoft had acquired in 2002. Rare created Sea of Thieves, which grew out from multiplayer ideas they had proposed while developing Kinect Sports for the Xbox One. 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. Spencer knew there was strong hesitation from other game publishers and developers on the subscription model, so he made plans to have Game Pass launch using a catalog of older titles, and then bring on Sea of Thieves as Microsoft's first first-party game for the service, on the same day that it would also be available at retail or purchasable through digital storefronts. Spencer had told Duncan that even if every player of Sea of Thieves played it through Game Pass and that no retail or downloadable copies were bought, Spencer would still consider that a successful result.
On February 28, 2017, Microsoft announced the debut of Xbox Game Pass and made a limited catalog of games available to select members of its Xbox Insider community for testing and feedback. 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. An Xbox Live Gold subscription is not required for Xbox Game Pass, but it is required for any online multiplayer content the games in the catalog may contain.
As part of Microsoft's E3 2017 press conference, Microsoft announced that selected Xbox titles would be made available through a new backwards-compatibility feature similar to that in place for Xbox 360 titles. In a later interview, Spencer stated that some of those games could make their way onto Game Pass, as well.
On January 23, 2018, Microsoft announced an expansion of Game Pass that would see first-party titles arrive on the catalog day-and-date with the retail release of the game, starting with the aforementioned Sea of Thieves launched on March 20, 2018. Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2 and Forza Horizon 4 would also be added upon launch, although their launch dates were not announced at the time, and future releases in existing Microsoft franchises, such as Halo and Gears of War, would also be added upon their release. Additionally, select ID@Xbox titles are also added to the service on their release dates, the first being Robocraft Infinity.
Spencer has stated that Microsoft's intent with Xbox Game Pass is to make it available across many devices, including those of their competitors. Spencer stated "We want to bring Game Pass to any device that somebody wants to play on...Not just because it's our business, but really because the business model allows for people to consume and find games that they wouldn't have played in any other space."
On April 18, 2019, Microsoft announced Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a new tier that combines both Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold into a single subscription package. It became available for testing to Xbox Insiders that same day, while general availability began on June 9, 2019. In May 2019, Microsoft announced Game Pass for PC, which would be supported on Windows 10 and have over 100 games available at launch. On June 9, 2019, Microsoft announced that Game Pass for PC would launch in open beta, and this would also be included in Ultimate.
Spencer said in October 2020 that their current pricing model for Game Pass at this point was considered "completely sustainable" despite concerns from some developers that they were undercharging for it, and that Microsoft had no plans to raise the price in the near future.
In June 2021, Microsoft stated that it was working on a Game Pass app for smart TVs, as well as a "standalone streaming device". Both of these offerings would be built around xCloud. In December 2021, Microsoft announced the rebranding of Xbox Game Pass for PC as "PC Game Pass" to reduce market confusion. The service continues to be branded with the Xbox logo.
A Friends and Family tier was revealed in September 2022, with trials first released in Ireland and Colombia. The higher priced plan, estimated to be $25/month, allows one to share their account with up to four others, limited to those within the same country as the account holder.
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.
Integration following Activision-Blizzard merge (2023-2025) Ahead of completing its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard in October 2023, Microsoft replaced Xbox Live Gold with a new Xbox Game Pass tier, called Xbox Game Pass Core, on September 14, 2023. Core carries the same features as Xbox Live Gold (including online multiplayer for non-free-to-play games), and offers a library of 36 games at launch, which is expected to expand and change over time, similar to the main Game Pass library.
While Spencer described how Microsoft would be making select Xbox exclusives available on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch in February 2024, he stated there were no plans to bringing Game Pass to these platforms, instead remaining the place where they would offer their first-party games first for Xbox and Windows.
A number of pricing changes and tier offerings were made as of September 12, 2024. New users are no longer be able to buy into the console-only tier digitally, though existing users will remain on this plan for at least a year before migration. Instead, a new Standard tier, offering Xbox Live services and access to the game library, excluding day one releases, has been introduced. Other plans remain the same including day-one access but will see their price increased by $2-3 per month, ahead of the availability of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as a day-one title on the service.
Microsoft unveiled a revamped Xbox Game Pass tier structure on October 1, 2025, with the service offering three tiers, Essential (A renaming of Core), Premium (A renaming of Standard), and Ultimate. The Ultimate tier will include Ubisoft+ Classics and Fortnite Crew. The change was also made alongside Xbox Cloud Gaming leaving its beta period, available to both Premium and Ultimate subscribers, the latter with faster streaming options for Cloud Gaming. Day-one releases are limited to Ultimate tier users, but Microsoft increased the number of games available across all tiers, with 50 for Essential, 200 for Premium, and 400 for Ultimate. The prices were also increased across tiers, with Ultimate raised to $30 per month. The PC Game Pass also saw an increase in price along with similar additional features. Microsoft said that they justified the price increases by the addition of more games from additional partners and new service offerings. The price increase, alongside increases in the Xbox console prices in 2025, was met with criticism from players, with many calling for others to cancel their subscriptions. In a 2026 interview, Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball said that Game Pass shed "millions of subscribers" in a few months following this price hike.
Changes from the Xbox reset (2026-) Asha Sharma replaced Spencer as head of the Microsoft Gaming division in February 2026. Numerous corporate changes were made, including rebranding Microsoft Gaming as simply Xbox. Over the next several months, several other major shifts were announced, including keeping first party, single-player games as exclusive to Xbox consoles and Windows, cutting several studios from Xbox Game Studios, and laying off 3200 staff.
Many of these changes were a result of underperformance of Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft had expected the service to reach 74 million subscribers with the addition of Activision-Blizzard games by 2026, but only reached an estimated 30 million. The October 2024 price increase was one contributing factor. Another was making available major titles available on day one on the service which hurt sales while diminished the value brought by other games. Employees speaking to Bloomberg News said that while the service may have been fashioned on the successful Netflix model with consumers viewing a wide range of content, the average gamers did not vary in their choice, often staying to one or two preferred games.
These changes were reflected in Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft announced a price reduction of Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on April 21, 2026, along with the removal of day one availability of future Call of Duty titles. Future titles would now be added to the service the following holiday season after release, about a year later.
Starting in November 2026, access to Xbox Cloud Gaming will become limited across all Xbox Game Pass tiers, ranging from 5 to 15 hours a month, though users can pay for additional hours beyond that allocation. Microsoft said this change was needed to address the rising costs of closed gaming.
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