Microsoft is ending the $1 Xbox Game Pass trial just days before Starfield’s launch, the publisher’s most anticipated game in years. Since Microsoft owns Bethesda, the makers of Starfield, the space game will land on Game Pass the day it launches – Sep. 6, 2023 – but if you’re keen on trying without buying, you’ll have to pay a full month’s subscription.
Which is more expensive now, after Microsoft raised the price in July 2023.
Microsoft made no statement about the change, which seems to have happened quietly. Polish gaming site XGP first noticed that the option for the two-week, $1 trial no longer existed on the Game Pass website (thanks, Pure Xbox). At the time of writing, the option is still gone.
Your choices now are paying $10.99 for one month on console; $9.99 for a month on PC; which also includes EA Play at no extra cost; or $16.99 for a month of Game Pass on console and PC.
Removing the trial is an unexpected move, but if your only goal is playing Starfield, it’s admittedly not a bad price. You’re essentially paying a sixth of the game’s price and getting it for a month before deciding whether to renew. Not ideal, but not terrible, though you might need to get a second month if you plan on playing Starfield‘s New Game plus, a first for Bethesda.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
