Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family preview ends in August
Microsoft will “take the learnings” for a worldwide offer.
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What you need to know
If you’ve been testing the Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family preview, you’ve only got a month left.
Microsoft announced on Friday (thank you to Daniel Ahearne for the tip-off) that theXbox Game Pass Friends and Familyprogram would be ending on Aug. 15, 2023. The plan was available as preview for users to test in a number of countries such as Ireland and Sweden.
“On August 15th, the Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family preview will come to a close,” Microsoft shared. “We’re excited about how the Friends & Family plan has resonated with gamers and will be evaluating the learnings to help create an offer that we can bring to more players worldwide in the future. All active members of the Friends & Family plan will receive an Xbox Game Pass offer as a thank you for participating and a way to ensure they can continue to play the games they love after the preview ends.”
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Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family allowed five users to all have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for about $25 a month, notable savings considering that until recently, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was available for $15 a month.Xbox Game Pass prices recently went up, increasing the cost of an Xbox Game Pass subscription to $11 a month and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $17 a month. PC Game Pass prices remain the same at $10 per month for now.
Windows Central’s take
This makes a modicum of sense, the preview plan was always meant to gather information. It’s a little surprising that we don’t have more details on when a Friends and Family plan will launch for everybody, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft needs to make some adjustments (such as to the price) for the economics to work on a wider scale.
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Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.
