Microsoft drops £1 Game Pass deal ahead of ‘Starfield’ launch
Microsoft has nixed the Xbox Game Pass offer that introduced new customers to the subscription service for £1, one week before Starfield‘s launch.
According to Games Radar, players realised that the offer disappeared over the weekend (August 26) and that the timing appears to be related to the upcoming launch of Starfield.
Originally, players were able to get their first month of Xbox Game Pass for £1 in order to see the benefits of the service, such as playable first-party launches on day one, discounts and backwards compatible classics from the Xbox 360 era.
In March, Xbox’s head of global communications Kari Perez said that the offer had been killed off as it “[evaluates] different marketing promotions for new members in the future”. The company then rolled out a system where current users could invite five of their friends to free two-week trials of Xbox Game Pass.
Following that, the offer was resurrected in July, but it was shortened to 14 days of Xbox Game Pass for £1 for new customers just a month later.
Xbox Game Pass is available in three different versions – console, PC and Ultimate. Ultimate includes both console and PC as well as Xbox Live Gold, which unlocks online console multiplayer modes and a scattering of exclusive Electronic Arts titles in EA Play.
As automatic monthly subscriptions, these are priced at £8.99 for console, £7.99 for PC, and £12.99 for Ultimate.
Starfield launches on September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X|S, yet those who have purchased the Premium or Constellation editions will be able to access the game five days earlier.
The sci-fi role-playing game is playable through Xbox Game Pass and if players would like to upgrade to the Premium edition for early access and bonus add-ons, like the game’s first expansion, that will cost them £34.99.
In other news, Starfield director Todd Howard said that it would be “weird” to talk about retirement, but he has considered the possibility.
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Imogen Donovan
NME
