Skip to main content

Xbox Game Pass offers unlimited access to more than 100 games

xbox one game pass announced s review 15 1200x0
Image used with permission by copyright holder
If you just purchased an Xbox One and were hoping to quickly build up your library of games, you now have another option that could save you some serious dough. Xbox Game Pass is a new subscription service that grants users access to some of the biggest games on both Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Available this spring on Xbox One and, at least in some capacity, on Windows 10, Xbox Game Pass will include unlimited access to games like Halo 5: Guardians, Mad Max, Payday 2, and Saints Row IV: Re-Elected for $10 a month.

The available games will change on a monthly basis as we’ve seen with movie and television streaming services, with some games exiting the program, though if you find a game in the program that you wish to keep permanently, Xbox Game Pass will take off 20 percent of its original price.

Microsoft said that the total number of games available through the program across Xbox One and Xbox 360 will be over 100, though it’s unclear how many of these will actually be playable on PC. Currently, most major Microsoft-published games — as well as a selection of other AAA Xbox One releases — support Xbox Play Anywhere, and grant access to both console and PC versions. The earlier Xbox One lineup, however, which includes Halo 5: Guardians, have never been playable on PC before.

If Xbox Game Pass were set up like PlayStation Now, the answer would be simple: streaming games to the PC instead of offering native support. But that isn’t the case with Xbox Game Pass, which has users downloading the full version of games to consoles to mitigate lag and allow for offline play.

“Select” users enrolled in the Xbox Insider Program will be able to try out Xbox Game Pass starting today, with the service planned to launch later this spring to the general public. Xbox Live Gold subscribers will also be granted access prior to the program’s official launch, though it’s not clear just how soon that will be.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Fallout 4 is finally getting free Xbox Series X and PS5 upgrades
New Fallout 4 Creation Club mod content coming with the Xbox Series X and PS5 launch.

Bethesda has confirmed that the current-gen update for Fallout 4 will finally release on April 25.

That's good timing, as a Fallout TV show just released on Amazon Prime this month to positive buzz. Fallout 4 came out for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox One in 2015, and this definitely looks like it will be the most substantial update the game has received since its last expansion was released.

Read more
Avowed: release date window, trailers, gameplay, and more
An environment shot of the Dawnshore Eastern Overlands in Avowed.

Obsidian has been a studio that punches above its weight with amazing RPGs like Pillars of Eternity and South Park: The Stick of Truth, as well as classic games like Fallout: New Vegas and Star War:s Knight of the Old Republic 2. While we're waiting on the sequel to the sci-fi adventure The Outer Worlds 2, the team is taking on its biggest challenge yet. Avowed is a first-person RPG that has a lot of visual similarities to Skyrim, but is set within the original world created for Pillars of Eternity. We've been tracking this game since it was revealed in 2020 and it's now in the final stretch before release. This could be the next great RPG experience you've been looking for, so check out everything you need to know about Avowed.
Release date window
During the January Xbox Developer Direct, we learned that Avowed is currently scheduled to release in fall 2024. No specific date was given, but we anticipate a firm date will be revealed by this summer.
Platforms

With Obsidian being owned by Xbox and a first-party studio, Avowed is an Xbox and PC exclusive. There is some possibility that it could come to other platforms like PlayStation in the future now that Xbox has started experimenting with bringing its exclusives to other platforms, but for now, it is best to assume this title will stay on Xbox and PC.
Trailers
Avowed - Official Gameplay Trailer

Read more
You need to play this underrated zombie shooter before it leaves Xbox Game Pass
A massive Ridden in Back 4 Blood.

All of us have gaming opinions that go against the grain or zeitgeist around certain titles. Oftentimes, it’s because your personal opinion on a title is negative -- I was like that with Sonic Frontiers -- but it can go in a more positive direction. For me, a game I’m a very positive outlier on is Back 4 Blood, a Left 4 Dead successor developed by Turtle Rock Studios and published by WB Games.

Although Back 4 Blood got decent reviews from critics, the public's general response toward the title is more mixed on platforms like Steam. Fewer people are playing it than Left 4 Dead 2 on PC at this point. I've always loved this game, as I enjoy the variance and replay value it introduces, as also think the different playable characters and level design make this one of the most enjoyable co-op shooters of the past several years.

Read more