Update: Microsoft wants you to enjoy Xbox anywhere, anytime, and here is how it plans to do it.
Microsoft could be drawing inspiration from Netflix by offering Xbox Game Pass in a family plan-like subscription, providing the means to share the gaming service across a household.
That’s according to an exclusive report by our colleagues over at Windows Central, who have heard of Microsoft’s plans to bring in an Xbox Game Pass “Family Plan.”
“According to trusted sources familiar with Microsoft's efforts, we can now confirm that Xbox is moving ahead with an Xbox Game Pass Family Plan, which could be set to launch sometime this year,” Windows Central’s Jez Corden reported.
According to this report, the Family Plan will give Xbox Game Pass access to up to five players on a single subscription fee, which is set to be cheaper than five individual Game Pass subscriptions.
“Utilizing Microsoft's Family Account system already in use for Office 365, players within the same country will be able to play together using a single XGP subscription managed by a central account holder, in much the same way as Netflix,” Corden continued.
What’s not clear yet is whether the Family Pan will apply to vanilla Game Pass or also Game Pass for PC and Game Pass Ultimate. Plus there's no word on potential pricing or when Microsoft will officially announce this Xbox Game Pass Family Plan.
However, if this information is all accurate, it’s good news for a household of gamers. And even if those gamers aren’t in an actual family, we could see such a subscription plan being used by a household of students or young professionals who all want to enjoy the mass of games on Game Pass but don’t want to fork out for individual subscriptions.
Given Game Pass offers access to a huge library of Xbox games old and new, as well as PC games and Xbox Cloud Gaming on the Ultimate tier (its game streaming now rather impressive on iOS), it’s one of the best deals in gaming even at its most expensive.
More affordable access to Game Pass could also be one way Microsoft can respond to the newly upgraded PlayStation Plus services, which are set to offer Game Pass-like access to a library of PlayStation games as well as some game streaming.
