Xbox Game Pass to become more like Netflix with family plan claims rumour

Posted by

Boss on Apr 01, 2022 - 03:31PM

Sometimes a family can be a super soldier, a couple of pirates, farm animals, and a car (pic: Microsoft)

Microsoft is believed to have greenlit an Game Pass family plan and could launch it later in the year.

Following Sony’s announcement for its , Microsoft apparently has one of its own planned for Xbox Game Pass. Although they’re not planning a complete overhaul like Sony, they will be adding a feature to make it more akin to other subscription services.

A report by claims that Microsoft will introduce a family plan to Xbox Game Pass, something it will formally announce and release later this year.

As the name suggests, the plan would allow users to share an Xbox Game Pass subscription across an entire household. Rather than a family of five paying for five separate subscriptions, the family plan would give everyone access at a reduced cost.

The likes of Netflix and Disney+ have offered family plans for years now. Even Nintendo, one of Microsoft’s chief rivals, has a family plan for Nintendo Switch Online; one which allows for up to eight accounts to share one subscription.

Windows Central adds that Microsoft has wanted to create an Xbox Game Pass family plan for a while now, but there have been a couple bumps in the road related to royalties and third party licenses. However, it appears that these details have almost been sorted out.

So far, all we know is that the Xbox Game Pass family plan will only allow for five Xbox users maximum and, much like Netflix, the subscription will be managed by a single account holder.

Such a plan will be cheaper than paying for separate subscriptions, but actual pricing details are unknown. At the moment, a standard monthly Xbox Game Pass subscription is £7.99, so it should be less than that.

However, it’s also unclear whether there will be separate family plans for Xbox Game Pass for console and PC or if it will be exclusive to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is currently £10.99 a month.

For comparison’s sake, Nintendo’s family plan is £31.49 for 12 months (£59.99 for the Expansion Pack). Microsoft is no doubt aware of this and will have this in mind when it comes to finalising its own pricing.