Xbox Game Pass for PC is exiting beta and will be fully available next week, but this comes with a price increase.
The Windows 10 PC version of Xbox Game Pass, which allows users to download and play first-party and third-party Xbox and Windows games for a monthly fee, has been in public beta for some time. The beta version was available for $4.99/month, but the official release will double the price to $9.99/month.
Microsoft has stated that the $4.99/month is a "limited time price. However, we expect the general availability release to mean that Microsoft has made some adjustments to improve Xbox Game Pass For PC and has expanded the range of games available on this service.
We have tried Xbox Game Pass For PC, and while it provides a decent experience overall, we occasionally encountered errors and struggled to intuitively play multiplayer games with friends. The range of games on Xbox Game Pass is very wide but not as many titles on the PC side.
Therefore, we hope that Microsoft will fix the glitches noted in the beta and expand the range of games available, including adding more PC-centric titles. Doing so might make paying twice the monthly fee more palatable.
Xbox Game Pass For PC provides access to EA Play, Electronic Arts' game distribution service, at no additional charge. This would add more than 60 games to the overall Xbox Game Pass For PC, including "Battlefield," "Mass Effect," and "The Sims."
The general availability of the Xbox Game Pass For PC will begin on September 17. Interestingly, this is a few days after the general availability of Microsoft's xCloud game streaming service, which will be bundled with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service on September 15.
Xbox Game Pass is one of the most affordable services in the entire gaming industry, offering many games across multiple platforms for a fairly standard subscription fee. And it is a service that is likely to help greatly with sales of the newly announced Xbox Series S as well as the Xbox Series X
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