Today, current Xbox Live Gold members can get a head start with the Xbox Game pass, with a 14-day free trial. The service will cost $9.99 a month and will include access to 100 different games, spread across both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One games catalog. You can check out the initial launch titles by heading over to the official website here. Not an Xbox Live Gold member and still want to check out Xbox Game Pass? Well, don’t worry, as you’re not required to have a membership and can subscribe to the Xbox Game Pass. Keep in mind folks, that this service is separate from Xbox Live. If you want both, you’ll have to pay for both.
For those unfamiliar with the service, it’s very similar to Netflix. Where you pay a fixed fee and you’ll get access to a vast number of games. However, instead of streaming the games, you’ll be able to download them to your Xbox One hard drive. No worrying about latency or being disconnected during a gaming session. In addition, games will be rotated every so ofter, so you’ll always have something new to play. And in the event that you want to keep playing a specific game, you’ll be able to purchase it with a 20% discount.
For $10 dollars a month, you can get access to 100 different games, tell me that isn’t a great deal? Especially in a household that has multiple Xbox Ones. In fact, my children are loving the service and so is my wallet. Not to mention how awesome this is for gamerscore hunters. Microsoft is definitely on to something with this service, though you have to wonder what took them so long.
The service will go live for everyone else as of June 1st and will be available in the following countries; Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, United States.
Currently, the Xbox Game Pass is only available on the Xbox One, and will not be available on the Xbox 360. However, Microsoft hasn’t completely ruled out if this service will make its way to the PC. In fact, during the early trial that I had access to, it mentioned both the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.
For more info on the service, be sure to check out the official website here.
