In March, Xbox terminated the $1 trial for Game Pass, claiming to be working on a new plan. However, after a few months, the gaming giant decided to add the trial back and then later reduced it to 14 days.
Microsoft’s latest first-party title, Starfield, is just days away from being launched worldwide. With just over a week before the game’s release, Xbox has again decided to remove the Game Pass trial.
Why it matters: Starfield is Bethesda’s biggest IP ever, and Microsoft has invested heavily in the RPG. The gaming giant hopes to achieve record-breaking revenue in FY24 after the release of Starfield.
Starfield has been in development for over eight years, and the game is just about to be released. This long development cycle has likely resulted in millions of dollars being spent on the game.
However, this may be worth it, as Starfield is expected to be one of the biggest releases of 2023. This may be one of the reasons behind the removal of the Game Pass trial, hoping to incentivize users to pay the full subscription price for the RPG.
While a 14-day trial was never going to be enough for users to fully experience the game in the first place, it would have allowed millions of curious gamers to try the RPG at practically no cost.
Therefore, it is speculated that Microsoft may be looking to profit from the new subscribers during the excitement around the launch day.
Like before, the trial is expected to return at some point. Since Microsoft has recently removed and readded the trial, the latest removal may be another instance of this pattern unrelated to Starfield.
Nonetheless, Starfield is still available on Game Pass at release, and users can enjoy the game for as low as $11/month on consoles and PCs.
Despite the trial’s removal, Game Pass retains all the previous benefits.
This includes hundreds of high-quality games, online access on consoles for Ultimate users, and other subscriptions like EA Play on PC. Therefore, Game Pass is still an incredible deal, even if users may not be able to pay $1 for limited-time access.
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[News Editor]
Obaid is pursuing a Law degree while working as a content writer. He has worked as a gaming writer for over three years because of his passion for the medium and reporting the latest updates in the industry. Having played hundreds of games, Obaid finds himself coming back to Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2, with these games being among his favorites. He has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as Wccftech, Metro UK, PS Lifestyle, GamePressure, VGC, and Gamespot.
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