Following the recent leaks about Microsoft working on a new Game Pass subscription that would let subscribers share their library with up to four of their subscriber players, the company has officially confirmed the new Friends and Family Xbox Game Pass plan.
Microsoft has now revealed more details about its Friends & Family plan, including the option to share its Xbox Game Pass service with more than one person. Microsoft is currently testing out its new plan in Ireland and Colombia, where it is priced at EUR 21.99 a month, as opposed to its normal EUR 12.99 per month price of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Xbox Game Pass Microsoft has been steadily rolling out new titles for subscribers, including giving them a first-day free pass at under half the price of a game. This plan allows a small subset of Microsoft users to pay a single monthly fee to get Game Pass access on up to five Xbox profiles. All Game Pass benefits, including hundreds of top-quality games, launch day coverage, exclusives from Xbox Game Studios, member discounts, and an EA Play subscription, will be shared among those five accounts.
As its name suggests, the subscription will let users share the benefits of their account with up to five other people within their gaming circle. Because all accounts within a group are treated as individual entities, features such as Microsoft Achievements, Cloud Saves, and Game Progress will be tailored specifically for each user. It was also revealed that every member of a friends-and-family plan will have his or her own Xbox profile, which allows him or her to save processes and keep track of stats.
According to a Microsoft FAQ, the conversion from the current Game Pass Ultimate subscription will see their hours converted to reflect the cost of the friends and family plan. Its new plan will let Xbox Game Pass members share with up to four other friends or family members for $21.99 a month in Ireland.
The family & friends plan box allows one subscriber and up to four other family members and friends access to all of Xbox Game Pass Ultimates benefits, including Xbox Cloud Gaming, multiplayer on Xbox Live, and even PC versions of games on the Game Pass. This reaffirms that the new plan could potentially prove a valuable addition to Xbox’s already existing Local Family Sharing options.
Microsoft previously launched a trial of the plan for Xbox Insiders in Colombia and Ireland in August of 2022, and it seems probable the service will be coming to more territories. Sure, Microsoft offered preview versions of this service to Xbox Insiders in specific territories earlier this month, but no word on any official plans for it to arrive in additional regions.
