Microsoft has announced that it is ending the Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family Plan. The plan rolled out last September in soft launch that was later expanded to a total of eight countries: Ireland, Colombia, New Zealand, Sweden, Israel, Chile, Hungary, and South Africa.
The Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family Plan allowed users to add up to five people under one account, at a discounted price compared to that of five separate memberships. For a time it was widely speculated that the plan would eventually come to other markets including the U.S., but that never materialized. The plan will be discontinued on August 15.
As a Microsoft spokesperson told Eurogamer,
We’re excited about how the Friends and Family plan has resonated with gamers and will be evaluating the learnings to help create an offer that we can bring to more players worldwide in the future.
There was no word on whether we’ll see anything more of Game Pass Friends & Family in its current form or perhaps another. Current members will get an Xbox Game Pass offer as a thank you for participating. The spokesperson said this was also “a way to ensure they can continue to play the games they love after the preview ends.”
Interestingly, the Friends & Family Plan was never referred to as a preview until this announcement. Instead, it was stated that the plan was being piloted in select countries.
The discontinuation of Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family comes as Microsoft announces a price increase for the Game Pass console and Ultimate tiers. This in addition to the recent announcement that Xbox Live Gold would be evolved into Xbox Game Pass Core beginning in September.
Featured image via Digital Spy.
