Great news for all you cheap ass gamers out there with an Xbox One. Microsoft has announced that going forward all new Microsoft Studio games will be added to the Xbox Game Pass “on the same date as their global release.”
What this means is that you no longer have to pay $60 to buy Sea of Thieves on March 20th. You can subscribe to the Xbox Game Pass and download the game free as part of your subscription. Even better, if you like the game and want to buy it, you get that sweet Xbox Game Pass discount. It doesn’t stop with Sea of Thieves. Microsoft has confirmed that both State of Decay 2 and Crackdown 3 are also being added to the Xbox Game Pass on launch.
If that is not enough for you, maybe the addition of Microsofts top franchises will be enough to sway your mind. Microsoft confirmed that “future unannounced games from Microsoft Studios including new iterations of our biggest Xbox One exclusive franchises such as Halo, Forza and Gears of War, on the same day they launch.” This will also most likely include the new Fable game being built at Playground Games.
Microsoft also announced the addition of a 6-month subscription card that will be available GameStop and other “select retail partners. The 6-month Xbox Game Pass subscription cards will be available starting March 20th for $59.99.
If this is your first time hearing about it, the Xbox game pass is a service that offers over 100 games playable on Xbox One for no extra charge to its subscribers. The Game Pass is similar to Netflix in that the library will change throughout the month with titles being added and/or removed from the service. Unlike Netflix however, all of the games are downloaded, not streamed.
The Xbox Game Pass program currently comes with a 14 day free trial and will cost $9.99 per month afterwards. There are currently has 133 Xbox One and backward compatible Xbox 360 titles available through the service. Active Xbox Game Pass subscribers can also save 20% on related Xbox One game purchases and 10% on all add-ons while the base game is still active in the catalog.