Update: Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan officially announced
A new logo for Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan was spotted in the system's backend, and it's now official
Update: The Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan is now official, but it’s only available in Colombia and Ireland. The plan lets you and four others access the benefits of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for a monthly cost of €21.99 (around $21.99).
It’s unclear when Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family will roll out to more countries, but Microsoft has said the service “might be added in the next months” to more regions. Being able to share the Friends & Family plan price means that if you and four friends split the fee, it would only cost $4.40 each.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives subscribers access to Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, EA Play, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and various perks and discounts. With Xbox Cloud Gaming, you don’t even need to own an Xbox Series X or S console to play the latest games. A browser, mobile device, or Samsung 2022 smart TVs support Xbox Cloud Gaming.
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Xbox Game Pass
🆕 A new Xbox Game Pass ‘Friends & Family’ logo has been discovered in the console’s backend
🙌 The logo suggests that the Xbox Game Pass family plan will let you share Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with your friends
👪 Most family memberships restrict you from sharing with people outside the same household
💵 You and up to four people will be able to share an Xbox Game Pass friends and family plan
Original story: A new Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family logo has been found in the system’s backend, suggesting Microsoft will let you share the price of an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership between you and up to four friends or family members.
The logo comes hot off the heels of Microsoft letting users test a new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate family plan membership in Ireland and Colombia that lets users “add up to four people to [their] subscription, all with their own unique access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate games, content and benefits.” (Thanks, VGC.)
The same user recently found a logo suggesting that Ubisoft+ could be heading to Xbox soon, but we’re still waiting for an official announcement.
The Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family tier hasn’t been shared publicly yet, but the new subscription tier will likely cost $24.99 a month in the US instead of $15 a month. However, split between four people, you’ll only have to pay $4.99, which is a saving of $10.
Most family plan subscription services, like Spotify Premium, prohibit you from sharing your membership with anyone outside your household, but it appears that Microsoft won’t implement the same stringent measures.
That’s a great saving, then, but it’s worth pointing out you can often get an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 12-month discount code, taking the monthly cost down to $8.33 a month. That might be a more appealing prospect if you can’t find four other people to bring the cost of the Xbox Game Pass family & friends tier down.
Xbox Game Pass members can look forward to some great titles before the year is out. Slime Rancher 2, Grounded, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Scorn, Persona 5 Royale, Pentiment, High on Life, and more are heading to Microsoft’s subscription service on day one. Check out our Xbox Series X games 2022 list to see every game due this year and in 2023.
First published: August 30, 2022
Updated: September 2, 2022