Microsoft is set to introduce a new family-sharing plan for Xbox Game Pass that allows up to five people to access the same subscription, for a higher price.
The new plan was announced through an official Xbox news post, although the initial rollout is going to be exclusive to Colombia and Ireland, for now. For anyone in those areas, Microsoft notes you need to purchase the “Xbox Game Pass – Insider Preview” from the Microsoft store. Each user in the family plan will have their own Game Pass Ultimate games, content, and benefits.
Unfortunately, the company hasn’t announced an exact price, although Microsoft noted that a full month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate would equate to roughly 18 days of the new membership. For context, a full month of Ultimate costs $15. There are a number of important details Microsoft noted about the preview, which you can see below. There are also some known issues you can see on the official post.
- The people you share your membership with do not have to be Insiders but must reside in the same country as you. Enrolment is limited and will remain open while the offer is available.
- Joining the Game Pass – Insider Preview will convert the time remaining on your membership to time in the new plan, based upon the monetary value of the old membership. For example, a full month of Ultimate will be converted to 18 days of membership for this plan. This way you won’t lose any of the remaining value on your existing subscription upon conversion. Conversion is final, and users must wait for their new membership to expire before returning to a previous membership.
- Conversion is not available for invited group members. Before joining a group, a group member can cancel their existing subscription or wait for it to expire. If they do not have a Microsoft account, invited friends and family will have to create a new Microsoft account and sign in with it to participate.
- Members with Xbox All Access won’t be able to participate in this preview.
- In Colombia, parts of the copy for the preview have not been localized and might be displayed in English.
There’s currently no word on when the preview might come to other countries, but Microsoft says it’ll have more to say later this year.
